Christian valedictorian case headed for Supreme Court

Attorneys for a high school valedictorian whose microphone was turned off when she began sharing her Christian faith say they'll appeal her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.The Rutherford Institute is representing Brittany McComb, whose lawsuit against school officials was dismissed Friday by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court stated that "by preventing her from making a proselytizing graduation speech," McComb's free speech and free exercise rights were not violated, nor was her right to equal protection.In June 2006, McComb strayed from her school-approved script to tell how faith in Jesus had filled a void in her life.Her microphone was shut off in mid-sentence as she said, "God's love is so great that he gave up-gave up his only Son..." The audience responded with boos and shouts to turn it back on, and responded similarly when school officials attempted to introduce the next valedictorian speaker, saying "she deserves this chance to speak."One month later, McComb filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Foothill High (Henderson, Nevada). The school's attempts to have that original case dismissed were rejected by the U.S. District Court for Nevada in June 2007, and school officials subsequently appealed to the Ninth Circuit to have the case dismissed. The Rutherford Institute says it will now ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that school officials violated McComb's constitutional rights. "This is a very important free-speech case that will affect the rights of all persons across America," states John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, in a press release. "If government officials can extinguish speech by turning off microphones at public assemblies, then none of us will have any rights." He argues that McComb's case is another example of a "politically correct culture" that silences Christians in order not to offend those of other beliefs. "Brittany McComb worked hard to earn the right to address her classmates as valedictorian," Whitehead says on his firm's website, "and she has a constitutional right-like any other student-to freely speak about the factors that contributed to her success, whether they be a supportive family, friends, or her faith in Jesus Christ."Brittany McComb was one of three valedictorians chosen to deliver a speech at the June 2006 commencement ceremony at Foothill High School.She is currently studying at Oxford University.

Read a complete history of this case and view a video of Brittany McComb's speech
By Jodi Brown
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=463166
As in the days of Noah....

State Department Releases Religious Freedom Blacklist

The State Department headed under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released this week the religious freedom violator blacklist designated by the Bush administration in January before leaving office.Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice re-designated the same eight countries named in 2006-Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, the Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan-as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) on Jan. 16.The list was not made available until this week after an inquiry by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).Being named a CPC is the worst label a country can receive from the United States for religious freedom violations. The designation can result in a wide range of U.S. actions against the country in attempt to improve its religious freedom record, including sanctions.USCIRF, a bipartisan government agency that monitors religious freedom status around the world, was critical of the latest CPC list for not adding any of the countries it had recommended. It also voiced dissatisfaction that although Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were designated CPC, the Bush administration had given them waivers.USCIRF had recommended in its 2008 Annual Report for the State Department to add Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, and Iraq to the eight countries already designated as CPCs.“The Commission is disappointed that Secretary Rice refused to designate any new countries and that waivers were granted for both Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia,” said Felice Gaer, USCIRF chair, in a statement. “Religious freedom conditions in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are appalling and a specific U.S. government response is required.”Saudi Arabia is known to practice the strictest form of Islam, Wahhabism, and stands out among Islamic states for its extremely harsh laws against all religions other than the Wahhabi branch.Investigation have also shown that it spends millions each year disseminating Islamic teachings - including religious literatures that teaches students to hate “infidels,” or non-believers – around the world.The country also has severe human rights abuses including a legal system with punishments such as flogging and amputation. Saudi Arabia has been a CPC since 2004, but has received a waiver, or essentially a pass, each year.USCIRF had sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in February expressing the Commission’s concern, including the State Department’s failure to designate CPC’s. The State Department has not released a new CPC list since 2006. The list released this week occurred after the Commission’s inquiry.“State Department efforts to negotiate with certain countries to bring about improvements in religious freedom certainly might be an appropriate reason for delaying CPC designation, but the Commission concludes that the State Department should have acted years ago in the case of a number of the countries our Commission recommended for CPC designation, under our statutory authority,” Gaer said.“As it reviews the previous Administration's CPC designations, we hope the Obama Administration will recognize the added value that CPC status can bring to American public diplomacy on human rights.”The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) requires an annual State Department review by Sept. 1 of each year. Although the IRFA does not set a specific deadline for CPC designations, decisions are based on the annual review and therefore is expected to come soon after, the Commission pointed out.USCIRF noted it is “problematic” for the State Department to release a CPC list after a more than two-year delay.

By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter

http://www.christianpost.com/Intl/Human_rights/2009/03/state-department-releases-religious-freedom-blacklist-28/index.html

As in the days of Noah...

International Policy Watchdogs Call U.N.'s "Defamation of Religions" Dangerous

Religious freedom and human rights groups are protesting a U.N. resolution on defamation of religions that could be used to justify anti-blasphemy laws and restrict freedom of expression, belief, and press.Since last week, a letter has been circulating around the world among rights groups seeking the signature of those opposed to the resolution. Critics argue that the “combating defamation of religion” concept has no validity in international law.The resolution, created by members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), explains the concept of defamation of religion in a way that could be manipulated to “silence and intimidate human rights activists, religious dissenters, and other independent voices,” the letter warned.U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide signed the statement on Wednesday, which had already been signed by 186 other non-governmental organizations from more than 50 countries.Among the first signers were Freedom House, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and U.N. Watch.The resolution comes at a critical time for the United Nations, which is preparing for the upcoming “Durban Review Conference” in Geneva this April. The conference is a follow-up to the 2001 World Conference against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa.There is concern that the Review Conference will be used to legitimize a “defamation of religion” agenda, supported by the 57 members of the Organization of Islamic Conference.“We are concerned that the motivation behind these annual resolutions on defamation of religion, and the aspiration to push this agenda at international conferences is not driven by a desire to protect religious believers,” said CSW’s chief executive, Mervyn Thomas.”Rather, we believe these resolutions can be used to protect states from the legitimate criticism of human rights defenders," Thomas continued. "They may also be used to justify blasphemy, anti-conversion and apostasy laws.“CSW therefore urges member states to reject such texts and to seek the protection of religious believers through existing international human rights law.”

By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter

http://www.christianpost.com/Intl/Human_rights/2009/03/int-l-policy-watchdogs-call-u-n-s-defamation-of-religions-dangerous-25/index.html

As in the days of Noah...

U.N.Council Ignores Mass Petition,Adopts "Defamation of Religions" Resolution

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a “defamation of religions” resolution on Thursday, ignoring a mass petition signed by over 180 non-government organizations from more than 50 different countries."Human rights protect people, not ideas," responded L. Bennett Graham, Becket Fund representative to the U.N., in a statement after the resolution was passed. "The passage of this resolution by the Human Rights Council is a disaster for people of all faiths." Becket Fund for Religious Liberty co-drafted the petition that requested the Council to reject the resolution.Critics of the defamation of religions resolution warn that it could be used to legitimize anti-blasphemy laws and intimidate human rights activists and religious dissenters. Instead of protecting adherents of religions, including those of religious minorities, the resolution protects religions themselves, they say.“Unfortunately these resolutions seek to undermine the very principles we were celebrating just last December with the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide advocacy director Alexa Papadouris.“They attack freedom of expression and freedom of religion and seek to protect powerful governments at the expense of often powerless individuals.”CSW was among the 186 NGOs that called on governments to reject the Pakistan-tabled resolution.Various forms of the defamation of religions resolution have been created and backed by members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). A version of the resolution was first introduced to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the Islamic Conference in 1999 under the title “defamation of Islam.”But international outcry against the resolution resulted in sustained lobbying at the United Nations. Since 2005, the resolution has been passed annually at the U.N. General Assembly.However in 2008, for the first time, “no” and “abstention” votes combined outweighed "yes" votes on the “defamation of religions” resolution.On Thursday, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted the resolution by a vote of 23 yes, 11 no, and 13 abstentions. NGOs have noted that this is the second year in a row that “no” and “abstention” votes combined have outweighed “yes” votes on the resolution.Becket Fund’s Graham, who is in Geneva, emphasized, "We are no longer talking about rights at the Human Rights Council, we are talking about politics. It's a disgrace.”He added, "We already have the tools we need to address religious conflicts in international law, including existing provisions against incitement to hatred and violence. We need to use them better."CSW’s Papadouris urges governments to reject defamation of religion in “whatever form it should take” at next month’s U.N. Durban Review Conference in Geneva.By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
http://www.christianpost.com/Intl/Human_rights/2009/03/u-n-council-ignores-mass-petition-adopts-defamation-of-religions-resolution-27/index.html
As in the days of Noah....

Not Guilty Plea for Alleged Ill. Church Shooter

A man charged in the fatal shooting of a pastor during church services said that he wanted to plead guilty, moments after his attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Settlement Lets Christian Preach in Public Square

MODESTO, Calif.-Attorneys for a Christian street preacher have reached a settlement with the city of Modesto, California, that allows him to keep sharing the gospel.The Alliance Defense Fund filed suit on behalf of Kevin Borden(picture left)in July to challenge Modesto’s attempts to block him from preaching in the city’s public square on Saturday evenings.The city prevented Borden from preaching outside theaters in the square for 10 months by claiming the private business was renting the plaza, making it akin to private property.Under the settlement approved by a federal judge, taxpayers will pay Borden’s legal expenses.

http://www.thecronline.com/news_article.php?nid=5176&ndate=25/03/2009

As in the days of Noah...

California college denies funding to Christian club

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California has dealt yet another blow to religion. The Christian Legal Society (CLS) chapter at Hastings College of Law wanted school recognition in order to obtain certain privileges such as funding. CLS attorney Tim Tracey picks up the story."So they applied for recognition and Hastings said essentially, sorry, you can't be recognized because your membership requirements and leadership requirements violate our non-discrimination policy. So, requiring your members to believe in Jesus Christ and telling them that they can't engage in sex outside of marriage, those are discriminatory policies, and we don't have a place for you here," Tracey explains. CLS filed suit in federal court and lost the ruling, so the case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit. "They affirmed that Hastings had a right to deny recognition to a religious student group because it requires its officers and voting members to agree with its Christian beliefs," Tracey adds. Tracey finds it outrageous in light of other federal courts ruling that the clubs have a constitutional right to determine their philosophy and membership. The Supreme Court will be asked to take the case.

By Charlie Butts

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=463854

As in the days of Noah...

Bishop of Rochester resigns to become defender of persecuted Christians

The Rev Michael Nazir-Ali has resigned from his post as the Bishop of Rochester. Photo: CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER

Dr Michael Nazir-Ali is only 59 and could have stayed for another decade in his post, one of the most senior in the Church, but has chosen instead to devote the rest of his career to working in communities where Christians are in a minority.While this is likely to see him involved in the Middle East and Pakistan, the bishop revealed that he also plans to work with Muslim converts to Christianity in Britain.He said he has been inspired by the story of Hannah Shah, an Imam's daughter who faced being killed by her family for refusing an arranged marriage before becoming a Christian."Bishop Michael is hoping to work with a number of church leaders from areas where the church is under pressure, particularly in minority situations, who have asked him to assist them with education and training for their particular situation," said a spokesman.
In a letter to clergy in his diocese, the bishop said: "I have decided that the time is now right for me to step down as Bishop of Rochester. I have valued my modest part in the life of the Church locally, nationally and globally."We take this step of faith 'not knowing where we are going.'"Dr Nazir-Ali, who is the Church's first and only Asian bishop, received death threats himself after warning last year that parts of the country have been turned into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims.He has been unafraid to speak out since being appointed as Bishop of Rochester in 1994 and has risen to become a leading champion of traditional Christianity in Britain.Many saw him as a likely contender to succeed George Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002, but he has instead become a focus for the conservative evangelical wing of the Church that has opposed the incumbent, Dr Rowan Williams.His interventions over the row over homosexual clergy in the Anglican Church have been seen as a direct challenge to the archbishop.Nevertheless, Dr Williams paid tribute to Dr Nazir-Ali's contribution to the Church of England."Bishop Michael's decision to undertake this new and very challenging ministry will leave a real gap in the ranks of English bishops," he said."His enormous theological skill, his specialist involvement in the complex debates around bioethics, his wide international experience and his clarity of mind and expression have made him a really valuable colleague, and he has served the Church and the wider society with dedication and distinction."In his new work with churches in minority situations, he will need all our prayer and support."It is a courageous initiative and a timely one."

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5067202/Bishop-of-Rochester-resigns-to-become-defender-of-persecuted-Christians.html

As in the days of Noah...

UPDATE:A NOTE TO MY READERS

I just wanted you all to know that my pastor,bro.Norris,passed away on saturday night at 1145PM.He was 47.He was like a father to us.Today we had a worship service at church,but it wasn't the same;it will never be the same without him.I would truly appreciate your prayers at this moment.Please pray for his wife and his two children.

I am having a hard time dealing with this.I haven't slept in two nights at all and I've been feeling physically sick.

I find myself beyond words.

I want to truly thank all those of you that sent me a note of encouragement,and overall for your agreement in prayer.

I have no way of repay you for all the love and prayers and the care even though we have never sen each other.The Lord will reward you.

You have no idea what it meant for me and my family

God bless you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As in the days of Noah....

PS:Bro. Norris,loved the persecuted church and it is in great part because of him that I have this blog.

An anti-conversion bill in Sri Lanka faces opposition

Sri Lanka (MNN)U.S. Congressmen are pressing Sri Lanka to drop its controversial anti-conversion bill.The proposed bill, called the "Prohibition of Forcible Conversions," imposes fines of up to 500,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($4,425 USD) and up to seven years in prison for trying to convert a Sri Lankan citizen from one religion to another by using "force, fraud or allurement."The harshest punishments are aimed at those convicted of converting women or children. The Jathika Hela Urumaya political party, whose leadership is comprised of Buddhist monks, drafted the bill.According to Gospel For Asia, a leader of that party went on record saying that US-funded Christian missionaries are one of the greatest threats facing Sri Lanka.Ironically, Sri Lanka's constitution guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion. That's what has made the anti-conversion bill divisive. Debate has been deferred amid opposition from Christians.Craig Detweiler with Asian Access says many are already working toward reconciliation, regardless of the politics or jockeying for power that has gripped the small island nation."One of our vice presidents serves as a pastor in Colombo, Kithu Sevana Church. They're doing remarkable things to bring Sinhalese and Tamils together in the name of Christ, and yet there are proposed laws that could make that a crime."The pastor networks Asian Access supports have been watching the anti-conversion saga."We have pastors in Mongolia, Japan and Thailand who are very concerned about what is happening in Sri Lanka. If certain laws are passed, maybe by a Buddhist majority there, it could be exported to other countries."Keep praying for wisdom for their team of church leaders."We're hopeful that the Christian community, which is a small minority, will be able to broker a fragile peace between the Buddhist majority Sinhalese and the Hindu minority Tamil community, and that there may be healing to a country that desperately needs it."Sri Lanka is a colorful and highly-complex country whose people have paid a heavy price in a decades-long civil war. According to the Associated Press, the death toll is estimated at roughly 40 civilians every day, with more than 100 wounded, as artillery shells and gun battles between the two sides devastate the Sri Lankan northeast.Yet many hearts are open to the hope and peace that comes from Christ. Detweiler produced a documentary about the country, its problems and its hope for a future.To watch it, click here. http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12368
As in the days of Noah...

The Cross In China (Chinese Revival Story) - Part 1

Vietnam Police Kill Christian Farmer Amid Rural Crackdown

Vietnam (BosNewsLife)Degar Montagnard Christians and other believers in several areas of Vietnam's Central Highlands faced another day of persecution Friday, February 27th, after at least one Christian peasant was brutally hacked to death by security forces and an angry mob, missionary workers and a key official told BosNewsLife.The United States-based Montagnard Foundation Incorporated (MFI), which has close ties with Christians in the area,told BosNewsLife it has just learned that Siu Krot, 65, was killed outside his farm, after refusing to sell his land.Local authorities have often pressured indigenous Christians to sell their lands below market value, or nationalized them, according to MFI and other advocacy groups."The Vietnam law is craftily designed to kill the indigenous Degar Montagnard people but protect ethnic Vietnamese as you can see with our Christian brother Siu Krot," MFI President Kok Ksor told BosNewsLife. Communist officials have denied that persecution has been taking place, calling the reports Western propaganda. However, Christian Aid Mission (CAM) quoted local Christians, including a pastor, as saying that homes have been destroyed and burned and that believers have been detained and tortured."Just a few years ago, more than 300 tribal pastors were put in prison ñ or simply vanished. No one has ever heard from them since," CAM added. It remains difficult for tribal churches to operate because to become "legal" they have to receive official permission for Christian activities, CAM said. Yet despite the setbacks, CAM stressed that some missionaries have noted a "sudden change" in attitudes of authorities towards Christians in some areas of the country, where so far tribal house churches were banned. Full Story.
PRAY that the Vietnamese Christians will be strengthened in their faith and that God will protect them from harassment and violent acts against them.
PRAY that Christianity continues to flourish under the regime.
PRAY that the Communist officials will acknowledge that persecution is taking place and that the international community will continue to expose the persecution of Christians in Vietnam.
PRAISE that some of the Vietnamese authorities are becoming more favorable towards Christians.
For more general information, please go to ICC’s website on Vietnam.

http://www.persecuted.org/

As in the days of Noah...

China:Violent crackdown by Chinese authorities on dissent now a daily occurrence

China (AsiaNews/Agencies)Violence by Chinese authorities has become a daily occurrence against people who demand religious freedom or who are opposed to the actions of the Communist government.Examples abound.On the 11th of February, police raided a private evangelical seminar in the Nanyang's Wolong district (central China), and they detained more than 60 home church leaders. They were booked by the police and forced to pay a fine. Eventually, they were released.The two Koreans were instead accused of "engaging in illegal religious activities" and expelled on the 14th of February,"banned from re-entering China for five years."In Beijing, a law firm was shut down for providing legal counsel to human rights activists.Anyone stepping out of the official party line, getting together to pray, or demanding that the Chinese law protect Christians are feeling the authorities' wrath.Under the current system of government,Christians can only take part in activities organized by official groups which are run by the Communist Party.However, most Christian home churches do not receive such approval. Similarly, the authorities are not letting up in their threats and intimidations against people daring to speak about Charter 08. It is a document that states that the Chinese government is to better respect human rights and also implement more democracy. And one signatory, Liu Xiaobo, has been in detention since the 8th of December 2008 for penning his name to the charter. His family has not yet been informed of the charges pending against him. His wife has only been able to see him once since his arrest. Even violence against petitioners has become systematic. Full Story.
PRAY that the Chinese government will halt the intimidation and persecution of Chinese Christians who support or who are involved with ìdomestic churchesî by abiding with Charter 08.
PRAY that the Chinese Christians will be creative with their worship and that they continue to wisely and boldly spread the Gospel to the Chinese people.
PRAY that Christianity continues to flourish under the regime.
PRAY that the international community will continue to expose the persecution of Christians in China.
For more general information, please go to ICC’s website on China.

http://www.persecution.org/

As in the days of Noah...

SPREAD THE LIGHT....!!!!

From 2/27 through March 27th, International Christian Concern will be holding their second "Spread the Light" recruitment contest for our Cause on Facebook.This is an excellent opportunity to make your friends and networks aware of the plight of persecuted Christians around the world....

To read more go to:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/65327

International Christian Concern

http://www.persecution.org/

As in the days of Noah...

Believers in India have reached 10 to 11 percent of the population

India (MNN)A total of 829 pastoral leaders attended two Frontline Shepherds conferences in India.David Shibley with Global Advance says the conference encouraged pastors to continue to be bold in their faith."We are not suggesting that we be bombastic or culturally insensitive in the proclamation or the Gospel. At the same time, we are not to close our mouths, and we are not to back up in the proclamation of the Gospel. So yes, this does present a dilemma and a spiritual challenge for pastors in those places where there are anti-conversion laws."Despite challenges, pastors were encouraged by the presence of so many other Christian leaders, 60 percent of whom were under the age of 30.The number of believers in India has risen to 10 or 11 percent of the population, rising from three percent in the last 20 years.

Pray for boldness for believers as they continue to be persecuted.

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12429

As in the days of Noah...

Cuban government remains unfriendly toward Christians

Cuba (MNN)Persecution remains high in Cuba, though unconventionally."In Cuba, it is different than in some other areas," says Ken Leggatt of World Serve Ministries. "Pastors aren't arrested typically, or beaten, or persecuted in that type of manner. It's more the situation where the government enforces laws that are on the books for everybody, but with the tendency towards punishing or using them to annoy or create hardships to Christians."An examples of this is a law where everyone was told they had to buy a new refrigerator. Citizens were allowed to take out loans to buy the refrigerators, but church planters and Christians were prohibited from getting loans.Many similar cases have made life difficult for believers in the communist country.Natives to Cuba are mostly open to the Gospel. Leggatt says one missionary family had 50 people attending their house church within six months of living in one Cuban city. Churches are getting excited to start new projects, including several building projects with World Serve."We're looking at doing several conference centers, or training centers, throughout the island-up to four in fact-where we will be able to conduct leadership and mentorship programs, discipleship programs, and even some youth camps," says Leggatt. "So we're working towards strategizing with the church there about how we can best come alongside them and assist them and support what they're already doing, but to do it even more effectively."The seeming animosity toward believers from the government, however, may cause problems for World Serve's building endeavors. Building permits can be difficult to procure for Christian projects. Other obstacles include funding, which will be particularly difficult since fall hurricanes flattened much of the island."Bags of concrete even are horrendously expensive," explains Leggatt."I believe the cost was 20 CUC, which is about 20 US dollars for a bag of concrete. It's prohibitive to build just due to funds."Plans for the centers will continue, however. There is certainly a spiritual need in Cuba and many who are ready to respond. In order to leap obstacles, however, help will be necessary.
Pray that the hearts of government leaders would be softened so permits might be provided for these centers.
Pray also that funding would come in to support the believers and churches in Cuba that are working hard to spread the love of Christ with few resources.
If you would like to help World Serve in their endeavors, click here.
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12348
As in the days of Noah....

Uneasy calm hangs over Nigeria

An uneasy calm hangs over the Nigerian city of Bauchi, mainly because the area remains under a dusk-to-dawn curfew.Deadly riots erupted Saturday that left thousands displaced,14 dead and 100 in the hospital.Tensions have been on the rise for a couple of weeks now since Pentecostal Christians reportedly barricaded a pathway used by Muslims attending Friday prayers at a nearby mosque.The Police Commissioner says they've made 30 arrests in connection with the riots.The Red Cross reports extensive property damage to more than 200 houses, six churches and three mosques.International Christian Concern and Open Doors say there is still concern that sectarian riots could rival the massacres in Jos.According to reports, an Open Doors team was on its way to the region to help victims and investigate what happened.The spark tht set off several days of rioting is unclear.However, tensions have been running high in Bauchi since November 2008, when more than 300 people died in Jos,Plateau State.In Bauchi's case, it appears Muslim extremists were targeting Christians, and that has caused ministry in the region to slow.

Pray boldness and wisdom for the Christians.

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12352

As in the days of Noah...

"Moderate" Egypt Imitates Saudi Arabian Extremism:Six Egyptian Christians Sentenced to Three Years Imprisonment for Not Observing Islamic Holiday

WASHINGTON, D.C.-International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Egyptian authorities recently sentenced six Christian brothers to three years in prison for opening their café during the Muslim fasting season of Ramadan last September.Egyptian authorities raided the family-owned café and assaulted the Christians before arresting them for violating the Islamic holiday and "resisting and assaulting the authorities.""The attack was unprovoked and motivated by religious zeal on the side of the Muslim members of the police force, and was video-taped," according to a report by the United Copts of the Great Britain. Despite viewing this video evidence, the judge ignored the unlawful actions of the police and sentenced the brothers to three years of imprisonment with hard labor.The video can be viewed here:

[http://www.unitedcopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3314&Itemid=1]The decision to detain Christians for running their business in the month of Ramadan is unprecedented in Egypt.Though Egypt claims to be a moderate Islamic country, their decision in this case actually follows the principles of the radical brand of Wahhabi Islam that is enforced by the Saudi Arabian government.The brothers have appealed their case but they still remain in custodyICC’s Regional for Africa, Jonathan Racho, stated,“It is outrageous that the Egyptian authorities punish Christians for violating an Islamic holiday. It is unacceptable for Egyptian authorities to expect Christians to observe Ramadan. This case is a clear example of the systematic and growing discrimination Egyptian Christians face with the further radicalization of Muslims in Egypt. We call upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately release these Christians.”Egypt is a major recipient of foreign aid from the United States. US officials must pressure the Egyptian government to release the six Christians who are unjustly imprisoned.

Please call the Egyptian embassies in your countries and politely ask the Egyptian officials to release the Christians.

Please pray for the safety and release of the brothers.
USA
202 895 5400
202 244 4319
embassy@egyptembassy.net
Canada
(613 )234-4931
(613)234-4398
egyptemb@sympatico.ca, egypt4931@rogers.com

UK
020 7235 9777
020 7235 6562
info@egyptianconsulate.co.uk
Australia
(00612) 6273 4437-6273 4438
(00612) 6273 4279
egyembassy@bigpond.com
Germany
49 40 413326
49 40 413326
http://www.persecution.org/

PS:Please go to the link and watch the violence against these cafe owners...It's outrageous and shows once more the intolerance and hatred in which christians in Egypt live in--day in and out.Let's keep these brothers in our prayers...!!!!!

As in the days of Noah...

A NOTE TO MY READERS

I just wanted to drop a line here and let you all know about my life these past weeks.I felt it was neccessary since I'm going thru a very stressfull season in my life.
Somebody we love dearly is on life support.He's been on life support since last week when he coded at 300Am one nite...It is our pastor.He is more than a brother to us.He is part of our family and is like a father to us.He is only 47 and was diagnosed with colon cancer in october.We are still believing for a miracle,because we dont believe it is his time to go yet.So Ive been on the phone a lot,writting emails a lot,praying and fasting a lot,and trying to gon on with my life and rest in the midst of all this.Ive been trying to update my blogs everyday.Some days were more challenging than others.On top of that this coming week is what I call my "performing week"where you play as a soloist in front of real people that you dont know,and you get scored.Ive been doing pretty well but Im discouraged and sad.I just pick up the violin and play but I feel Im not there.I need the Lord to help me at all times.
I was just thinking that Ive gone thru a long season of struggle,trials,losses and disease and Im ready for a season of rest and restoration.
Events worldwide are going fast...faster than I anticipated they would.And all indicates that we are moving fast in time to a time of tribulation as the world has not known.
I have been feeling a prompting to spend more time alone with God and get my soul,mind and body ready for what is coming ahead.I urge you to do the same.To be ready at all times,cause we dont know the day and the hour.I know we all have a bunch of loved ones that are not saved yet.So we need to keep believing loving and praying and sharing the Word and working while it is still day...BUT the night comes...and is coming quickly...
Ive got to go now.We're headed to the hospital,cause today my pastor was scheduled to be disconnected from the ventilator for an hour to test if he could be weaned off it...This is difficult for all us .So IF the Lord leads you to pray for this,I would appreciate it and if you want to drop a line and let me know you are praying and where you are from,that would be really encouraging.
Thank you so much,for visiting my blog.
Im humbled to know many of you come back on a regular basis for news an for the truth and thank you to all those of you that sent me kind comments about it.
God bless you all
And Keep Looking Up....!!!
Love

1 John 3:8
As in the days of Noah...

NORTH KOREA WATCH:Ministries Go Underground to Aid North Korea

North Korea’s oppressed people live in a state of constant fear. They suffer from poor economic conditions, and many are starving. To make matters worse, they are increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.Open Doors World Watch List 2009 again ranked North Korea as the number one worst persecutor of Christians in the world. For seven years in a row, the county has topped the list.North Korea is suspected of detaining more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world. Estimates reveal there are at least 200,000 prisoners, with up to as many as 70,000 being Christians.Paul Estabrooks, Minister-at-Large for Open Doors International and author of Escape from North Korea: A Desparate Quest for Food, Love and Life said officials in North Korea view Western Christianity negatively for several reasons. "There are two aspects to this. One, they look at Eastern Europe and the fall of Eastern Europe, countries like Poland and others, and they feel that Christianity had a very significant part in the fall of Poland, and other countries in Eastern Europe. And, they don’t want that to happen in North Korea,” said Estabrooks.“But, even more importantly, they consider Christianity as an American religion.” Christianity is not allowed in North Korea and the Bible is banned. If found to be a Christian, a person can be executed or put into a labor camp for years. The majority of people in the country have never heard the Scriptures, seen a church or heard about the biblical God, and the constitution is heavily based on Juche ideology.Under the leadership of Kim Jong-Il, Christianity is considered to be one of the greatest threats to the regime’s power. Kim has elevates himself as a god among his people.
Going Underground
“Our brothers and sisters in Christ in North Korea live under the worst oppression in the world—a modern day Holocaust. But because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus is making an impact through us against the powers of darkness behind Kim Jong-Il,” said Mrs. H.S. Foley, Executive Director, Seoul USA.Foley, a fourth generation Christian, born in Seoul, South Korea, lived half of her life there before coming to the United States to earn an MBA. Through her work at Seoul USA and the new Underground University project, she is committed to making a difference around the world, and specifically in North Korea.“My passion and purpose is to serve as a bridge between Korean and American culture, mobilizing the resources of both to equip and collaborate with those in Asia who are typically overlooked for ministry. I want to equip and collaborate with them to reach others who, like themselves, are overlooked by the church and by society in general.”According to Foley, “Seoul USA is a network of people who want to go beyond the roles of donor or volunteer to become champions of the cause of serving the North Korean church.And, we want to expand our network to include others with the same goal.”To that goal, Seoul USA collaborates with Voice of The Martyrs in the United States and around the world to launch a million Gospel tracts by balloon into North Korea every year. The group also runs Underground University, a one-year North Korea missionary-training program, as well as a host of literature, radio, family ministries to North Korea.Foley hopes these efforts and new partnerships will raise up a new generation of church leadership for North Korea.“The main thing we see is a change in the way North Korean exiles view themselves,” she said.“They’re called North Korean defectors. They’ve even swallowed that identity for themselves. But they’re not defectors. They’re the North Korean Church in Exile—and waking them up to what that means will blow the future and the present wide open for the Underground Church inside North Korea.”Many defectors have previously trained in South Korean seminaries, hoping to return when the North is more open to the South. Such training may never be of use, Foley says, as North Korea shows no signs of warming to its counterpart.“Worse, the bared arm of the North Korean Underground Church—the one arm we can fully strategize with, train, equip, and redeploy to thrive today back inside of North Korea and China and wherever NK citizens travel around the world—hangs limp and lifeless,” Foley continued.Foley hopes to change that with the group’s April 2 banquet. The evening’s featured speaker, Kim Sun Min, is a North Korean defector who has twice escaped the country and now functions as dean of Underground University.
Meeting the Greatest Needs
“Probably the most restricted nation in the world is the country of North Korea, as far the gospel,” said Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development for Voice of the Martyrs (VoM). The persecution watchdog partners with Seoul USA.“The phrase that I use is, ‘North Korea is a prison camp disguised as a country.’ Everyone in North Korea is oppressed, everyone is persecuted. Christians are just singled out for the very worst persecution and the very worst oppression.”The country’s government encourages its citizens to spy and report on each other, creating a “paranoid society,” Nettleton said. In such an environment, everyday needs such as food and clothing become huge challenges. Because of that, current mission to North Korea mostly take the form of food assistance, said Alpha Relief President Chris Moore.“The biggest push that we have right now, is doing everything we can to directly assist, and sustain the orphans, the street kids, believers, and people connected with believers in the county of North Korea, primarily in the form of food aid,” said Moore.“North Korea is in a situation where they are perpetually on the edge of famine, or actually in famine.”While an increased food supply open the door to share physical and spiritual food with neighbors, Alpha Relief is mindful of the costs.“If you are caught with any form of scripture, you get up to a thirteen-year concentration camp sentence,” Moore said. “So because of that we have to be very creative.”

By Ginny McCabe
Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11600953/

As in the days of Noah...

Jordan Militants Get Heavy Sentence for Church Bomb Plot

Jordan’s military court sentenced on Monday three Jordanian extremists to 22 1/2 years in jail for a plot to bomb a Catholic church last May.The judge explained that he gave the two-decade sentence because he believes the bomb plot itself, even if it failed, was a “danger to the state and its people,” according to The Associated Press. Authorities were able to prevent the attack last year when the group’s mastermind was arrested for speeding on the day of the planned bombing. The three had planned to detonate a vehicle filled with explosives in front of a Catholic church in the capital city, Amman.In general, Jordan is known to be a moderate Muslim country despite being located in the Middle East and having a more than 90 percent Sunni Muslim population. Christians are estimated to make up only about four to six percent of the population. Jordan’s Queen Rania is well known around the world for speaking against Muslim extremism and violence in the name of religion.She is also an outspoken advocate of women’s rights and protecting children from violence.But last year a U.S. State Department report warned that Jordan as well as Sunni-dominated Algeria in northern Africa – both countries with traditionally respectable religious freedom records – are new spots of Islamic fundamentalism and religious intolerance.In Jordan, a sharia court found a convert to Christianity from Islam guilty of apostasy.The judge then annulled his marriage and declared him to have no religious identity.Also,the government reportedly harassed individuals and organizations because of their religious affiliations, according to the State Department report.The report covered the time period between July 2007 to July 2008 and was released in September.

By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter

http://christianpost.com/Intl/Overseas/2009/03/jordan-militants-get-heavy-sentence-for-church-bomb-plot-17/index.html

As in the days of Noah...

Kazakh church reaches out despite persecution

Kazakhstan (MNN)While there's still a question about whether or not a restrictive religion law will go into effect in Kazakhstan, the evangelical church continues its work despite threats of persecution."Judy" with The Mission Society says she's been working in a village for about 13 years now."One of our churches we planted about 10 years ago has planted three churches themselves and also developed drug and alcohol rehabs centers."She says this is an incredible milestone."I've been working among the people who have come to the Lord in the last 13 years, and many of them had never even heard the name 'Jesus.' Many of them had lived without any hope and any future, and their lives were completely transformed."While the religion law hasn't been implemented, known evangelical believers are being oppressed."We have many church members that are unable to get a job in the particular village that I work in because of a local village mayor. He's already said if you're a member of the church you will not be hired for any work in this village."Officially, the national government isn't against Christianity. However, Christians are being verbally attacked, their salaries are being cut, they're forced to do more work for less pay, and some are even fired without cause.According to Judy, this isn't having a negative effect on strong new Christians."I was actually invited to a celebration tea," says Judy,"and I was quite confused about that.They said, 'Don't you understand? We have been Christians for five years, and we are so excited that God counts us worthy to be able to suffer for Him.'"So while the tensions increase, Judy says believers are pressing on."They just have an excitement sometimes, and they just want to share with other people what they have found."
Judy is asking you to pray for "continuing growth in the leaders, that they would be able to remain strong under this persecution, and that in the midst of it that they would grow spiritually."

Pray also that western missionaries will know when to let go and allow the national church to do the work.

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12416

As in the days of Noah...

Azerbaijan to further restrict religious freedom

Azerbaijan (MNN)Azerbaijan's wide-ranging religious literature censorship system has started to affect evangelical leaders in the country.Vice President of Russian Ministries Sergey Rakhuba was just in the country and says,"Two Baptist pastors were traveling between neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan-authorities confiscated Azerbaijani Bibles." According to Forum 18 News, an official of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations said,"Our society doesn't need books that don't suit our laws and our beliefs." He claimed that unspecified religious literature could cause unspecified "social harm and possibly inter-religious and inter-ethnic violence."Rakhuba says an amendment allowing strict censorship will be heading for a referendum this month.He says believers may face raids reminiscent of the Cold War if the censorship issue continues."Local police will be searching homes of evangelical leaders, and they will take all their Christian literature away from them."This will mean little", says Rakhuba."Basically there is a dictatorship in Azerbaijan," he says.Russian Ministries works to empower the national evangelical church.They intend to do that despite the persecution."We're very much considering and praying and evaluating our resources to see how we can start our School Without Walls program for the next academic year in the fall."School without Walls is a program that helps train next generation church leaders, and Rakhuba says their work must continue."The church is not scared.The church is growing.The church needs a lot more support to continue their ministry in the circumstances like that."Support comes in the form of prayer and dollars. Rakhuba says financial support is wide ranging."The church needs support for training resources, to have more Bibles, to have more Christian literature. All of this is not allowed there, but they know how to smuggle it to Azerbaijan and make it available."
Pray that God will stop the literature censorship.If that isn't stopped, pray that God would allow the training to continue and the literature to get into the hands of Christians who need it.
You can help financially. Just click here.

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12382

As in the days of Noah...

Thieves Stone Christians,Killing Woman,for Going to Police:Group Wanted to "Teach a Lesson" to Christians after Robbed Man Reported Them

WASHINGTON, D.C.-International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on March 2 a group of 25 Muslim radicals attacked the women and children of a Christian neighborhood in Pakistan while the male inhabitants were absent, killing one woman and injuring 12 other people. This attack was the culmination of several days of tension after a young Christian man registered a criminal case against a few Muslim youths who mugged him on February 26. Insulted that a Christian would register a case against Muslims, the attack was planned in order to "teach a lesson" to the Christian community. According to Emmanuel Shad, an elder at the Sango Wali village's Presbyterian Church, 17-year-old Mr. Imran Masih was robbed by his Muslim neighbors while he was on his way home from work on February 26. The thieves physically assaulted him and stole about $40 and his cell phone. They did not hide their faces, so when Imran returned home he told his family who had mugged him. Imran's family approached the Muslim boys' families to request that they return the money and valuables, but were refused.Angered at the Christian family for reporting this case to the police, on March 2 the youths who robbed Imran gathered several accomplices to seek revenge."Around 25 armed Muslim men attacked the Christian community and the Presbyterian Church in Sango Wali, Aroop town, Gujranwala on March 2 at about 11:00 am. They abused the young girls, stoned the Christian community, killing Ms. Shahkeela Bibi, a 45-year-old Christian woman, and injuring 12 others," reported Ms. Surayia Channan, a local human rights activist in Gujranwala.The time was chosen strategically, because the attackers knew that at 11:00 am most of the men would be away for work. A few rushed back to their homes when they heard about the incident.The Muslim mob invaded the neighborhood and the church armed with guns, hockey sticks, stones and small weapons. After attacking the people in the neighborhood, the criminals damaged the doors and windows of the church and shouted demeaning statements against Christianity. The terrorists did not allow a local rescue team to provide first aid to those they had injured. They threatened anyone who tried to provide assistance to the injured or give information to the police, but finally dispersed when police arrived on the scene.Ms. Shahkeela Bibi died on the spot and 12 others who were seriously injured were admitted to the civil hospital in Gujranwala. As of this morning, all of those injured have been discharged from the hospital. The Christians did file a criminal case against the men who attacked them, but police have only arrested two of the 12 suspects named in the case so far.The husband of deceased Ms. Shahkeela Bibi was hesitant to pursue further legal action due to pressure from local politicians and police officials, and is considering withdrawing his complaint.At present, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace is supporting the victims in legal matters.Ms. Suraiya told ICC that there are 20-25 Christian families belonging to the Presbyterian Church living among almost 1,500 Muslim families in the village. Mr. Imran Masih and Ms. Shahkeela Bibi were unknown to each other and had no family relation. A large crowd of Christians staged a series of protests on March 2 and 3 in Gujranwala to demand justice. Samuel Wallace, ICC's Regional Manager for South & Central Asia, said, "Not only is it appalling how these men could be 'insulted' for having their theft held to account by their victim simply because he was Christian, this case reveals how bankrupt the Pakistani justice system is. Police turned a blind eye to the theft and four days later the same criminals murdered a woman who had nothing to do with the robbery. There will be no true justice in Pakistan until the weakest in their society can see police as an ally instead of an enemy."
http://www.persecution.org/

As in the days of Noah...

Intimidating Critics of Islam:"Politicians and citizens who raise questions about the religion are targeted"

We lost more than a million jobs in the past few months, the headlines remind us. So last month's story about a Dutch court's ruling that Geert Wilders was "inciting hatred and discrimination"-and that "it is in the public interest to prosecute" him-understandably didn't make the American news.Did Wilders rip off a minority in a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme? No, he's a member of the Dutch parliament, and his precise villainy was releasing a 15-minute film.Entitled Fitna,it suggests a direct link between certain verses of the Koran and acts of terrorism.Not to be outdone, the United Kingdom this week banned Wilders from entering the country.Its reasoning: His"presence in the U.K. would pose a genuine, present, and sufficiently serious threat to one of the fundamental interests of society."A letter from the home secretary went on to tell Wilders that "your statements about Muslims and their beliefs, as expressed in your film Fitna and elsewhere,would threaten community harmony and therefore public security."In 2007, Cambridge University Press destroyed unsold copies of Alms for Jihad after it was sued by Khalid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi-Irish businessman whom the book accused of financing al-Qaeda. So much for academics standing up against book-burning.In 2005, reporters from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten were forced into hiding after publishing a series of 12 cartoons about Muhammad. Islamic fundamentalists found the images blasphemous and threatened to bomb the paper's offices and kill its cartoonists - apparently, in certain quarters, an alternative to a letter to the editor.Last year, at the urging of the Canadian Islamic Congress, author Mark Steyn was forced to defend himself against charges of racism and "Islamophobia" that were filed with three Canadian human-rights commissions, based on his columns in Maclean's magazine.And, following a 2008 U.N. resolution urging nations to outlaw "defamation of religion," several nations - including Italy, the Netherlands and France - are attempting to ban "hate speech" against religious groups.All of these incidents are calculated to intimidate critics of Islam in Europe and across the West. The message in the European Union is clear: Politicians, religious figures, and even private citizens with religiously and politically incorrect opinions will be subject not only to Muslim protest, but to criminal prosecution and violent retribution.What publisher will print Steyn's next book if it can be labeled a hate crime and banned in most countries? "Pretty soon, your little book is looking a lot less commercially viable," Steyn has said. "At the end of the day, there'll be a lot of...American books that will go unpublished here in America."In addition, these incidents deflect attention away from real-rather than trumped-up-religious discrimination. In the arena of actual persecution of religious minorities, Arab and Islamic nations are much of the problem.Look at the U.S. State Department's 2008 Report on International Religious Freedom. Among the dozens of limitations on religious freedom in the Arab-Islamic world are the crimes of apostasy - converting from Islam to another religion - and blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad, both punishable by death under Muslim Sharia law. Coptic Christians are, at best, second-class citizens in Egypt; Baha'is are savagely persecuted in Iran; and churches and synagogues are banned in Saudi Arabia, as is any non-Muslim religious activity in public.This is not a front- or even back-page story in the American press today. Why? Because it has nothing to do with the economy.The gathering storm I have been warning of for years has now formed over the West. Yet instead of fighting the gradual incursion of Sharia and the demands of an intolerant, even militant Islam, Westerners are cowering and fatalistic. Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury conceded that acceptance of some parts of Sharia in Britain seemed "unavoidable."So how did the market do today?

By Rick Santorum
Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

http://www.eppc.org/publications/pubID.3707/pub_detail.asp

As in the days of Noah....

EGYPT:"Ruling on Bid for Christian ID Expected Soon";Attorney says he is "90% sure" that convert from Islam will win case

ISTANBUL(Compass Direct News)Following a hearing on Saturday Feb. 7th, the lawyer for a Christian convert in Egypt said he is hopeful that his client will become the first Muslim-born Egyptian to be granted official identification as a Christian. Nabil Ghobreyal, attorney in the controversial and long-running legal effort by Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary to change religious affiliation on his identification papers, said he expects a favorable decision at the next hearing on Feb. 21.“I am now 90 percent sure they will accept the conversion,”said Ghobreyal.“I proved to the court that there is no legal reason why he can’t convert to Christianity according to Egyptian civil law.”Ghobreyal said he is “generally happy with the attitude” of the new judge in the case, Hamdy Yasin, who declared that he was ready to listen to the facts of the case without prejudice. Yasin replaced Judge Mohammad Ahmad Atyia, who in a Jan. 6 hearing expelled Ghobreyal from the courtroom after the lawyer challenged his refusal to acknowledge the existence of legal documents detailing the successful attempt of a Muslim to convert to the Baha’i faith.Lawyers for the state asked that El-Gohary, who has been in hiding under threat of death, appear in person to offer testimony. Ghobreyal protested, arguing that forcing El-Gohary to attend would present extreme risk to his personal safety. The judge agreed to Ghobreyal’s request.Mohammed Hegazy, the first Muslim-born Christian convert to attempt to have his new religion officially registered, is also in hiding after receiving death threats.Ghobreyal said that the state’s lawyers seemed to attempt to further delay or derail the case by calling for Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour, speaker of the People’s Assembly (Egypt’s parliament), to appear in court to testify about lack of legislation on “apostasy,” or leaving Islam.
Implications
Should El-Gohary be granted the right to officially convert on Feb. 21, he would become the first Egyptian born a Muslim to do so.Such a precedent could pave the way for Hegazy, whose petition to legally change his religious status was denied in January of last year.His lawyer, Gamal Eid, said this week he hopes to obtain another court date for his appeal.“It would be very good for any cases like this,” Eid said.“It will open the door for people who are looking for freedom of belief.”As much as a favorable ruling for El-Gohary would represent a milestone for freedom of belief in Egypt, the editor of the Egyptian newspaper Watani said he would have concerns about the impact of such a decision.“Definitely there will be a backlash, whether from al-Azhar [university and mosque in Cairo], the Islamic supreme authority, or from the media or from the people,” said Youssef Sidhom, a Coptic Christian. “This is expected, and I suppose our government should be prepared to deal with such reactions.”Ghobreyal, however, maintained that success would secure a route for all those wishing to officially change their religious affiliation.“They will not be able to do that [ban official conversion in the future],” he said, “because of the international covenants and treaties which Egypt has ratified and the difficulty of making a law against apostasy, on which Islamic jurisprudence differs about how it should be handled.”Despite a constitution that grants religious freedom, legal conversion from Islam to another faith remains unprecedented. Hegazy, who filed his case on Aug. 2, 2007, was denied the right to officially convert in a Jan. 29, 2008 court ruling that declared it was against Islamic law for a Muslim to leave Islam.The judge based his decision on Article II of the Egyptian constitution, which enshrines Islamic law, or sharia, as the source of Egyptian law.The judge said that, according to sharia, Islam is the final and most complete religion and therefore Muslims already practice full freedom of religion and cannot return to an older belief (Christianity or Judaism).Egyptian President Anwar Sadat amended the constitution in 1980 to make sharia the main source of legislation in order to bolster support from Islamists against his secular and leftist rivals. Legal experts say there are two views of how sharia is to influence Egyptian law: That it is to be enforced directly in all government spheres, or that it is only to influence shaping of law by legislators and is not to be literally enforced by courts or other bodies.
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5804&backpage=archives&critere=egypt&countryname=&rowcur=0

As in the days of Noah...

Orissa Archbishop:"Gov't Ignored Violence Because Victims are Poor"

WASHINGTON-The Indian government ignored the brutal anti-Christian campaign in the remote state of Orissa for months because the population is poor and uneducated, said Catholic Archbishop Raphael Cheenath on Wednesday at an event discussing the state of religious freedom in India.At least half of the population in Orissa belongs to the outcast segment-untouchables or tribal-based on the caste system, noted the Archbishop of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, located in the region of Orissa, at the event hosted by public policy think tank Hudson Institute.As a result, the government is “not interested” in developing Orissa, which remains the least developed and poorest state in India despite being the biggest supplier of minerals in the country, he said.“Orissa, in the eyes of the government, is a non-entity as a state,” Cheenath, who is visiting the United States this week, said.To support his argument, the Archbishop pointed out that a fact-finding team from the central government arrived in Orissa only after the violence against Christians had been raging on for two and a half months.However, when Karnataka, a state in South India, was attacked, the government was able to stop the violence within five days “because there are more educated and more important people there-politicians,” Cheenath claimed.Then when the Mumbai attacks occurred, the violence was stopped in three days “though they were the most dreaded terrorists,” he noted.Cheenath, frustrated over the lack of concern for Orissa, wrote a letter to the Indian prime minister saying that he does not understand how the government can stop the Mumbai attacks in three days, Karnataka in five days, but couldn’t stop the attacks on Christians in Orissa after more than four months.“So you can see the difference,”Archbishop Cheenath said.“There is discrimination. There is a neglect from the state as well as the central government because Orissa is not an important place.”Earlier in the talk, the Archbishop informed the audience that Orissa’s northeast region has a “very high” percentage of Christians - anywhere from 60 to 90 percent - compared to one percent or at most 17 percent in other areas of the state and country.Many of the Christians in Orissa are poor Dalits or from tribal groups.Hindu fundamentalists have accused Christians of forcibly converting the tribals in Orissa,but Cheenath explained that the tribal had no prior religion before accepting Christianity. Tribal Indians are animists so it is false when Hindus say they converted to Christianity from Hinduism.The attacks on Christians began in mid-August after the murder of a Hindu religious leader. Maoist rebels have publicly claimed responsibility for the murder, but Hindu fanatics insist on laying the blame on Christians and destroying their homes and churches in retaliation.Since August, more than 60 Christians have been killed; 18,000, wounded; 181 churches, razed or destroyed; 4,500 Christian homes, burned; and more than 50,000 Christians, displaced, of whom more than 30,000 remain in refugee camps or in hiding in the jungle, according to media reports.In one heartbreaking story, Cheenath recalled learning about a young Hindu girl who was babysitting at a Christian orphanage and was gang raped and then thrown alive into a bonfire by Hindu fanatics.
By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
http://christianpost.com/Intl/Persecution/2009/01/orissa-archbishop-gov-t-ignored-violence-because-victims-are-poor-29/index.html
As in the days of Noah....

World Watch China Video

China has recently been moved to #12 (from 10) on the World Watch List.20th century China was shaped by isolation, communism and hostility towards Christianity.In the face of persecution, Christianity continues to spread in China, a country of 60 to 80 million Christians...

Open Doors World Watch List 2009 Now Available

The World Watch List is compiled from a specially-designed questionnaire of 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom.A point of value is assigned depending on how each question is answered.The total number of points per country determines its position on the World Watch List of countries that are the worst persecutors of Christians.
Open Doors mission is to use this extensive resource to spread awareness of the degree and severity of persecution around the world.
To help spread awareness Open Doors have made the complete and comprehensive World Watch List free and available for download.
Go to the link below to download this helpful resource and share it with family,friends and church.
God Bless You
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/432/
As in the days of Noah...

Voice of America Report Reveals that Meeting Between Beijing House Church Leaders and Government Officials was Misreported

BEIJING-The Voice of America released the following report on January 28, 2009 regarding the December 2008 meeting between Beijing house church leaders and government officials. While many news sources have reported that these meetings indicate a change of attitude by the Chinese government,however Voice of America sources, along with ChinaAid contacts, have emphasized the meetings were not actually arranged by government officials.
The Equivocal Relationship Between the Chinese House Churches and the Chinese Government
By Ya Wei, Voice of America
Last December, the house church leaders in China held a conference in Beijing.According to the person in charge, the conference was not officially supported by the Chinese government as some have assumed.The relationship between the Chinese house churches and the Chinese government remains equivocal.A few international media sources,including The Times,reported that the Chinese officials and leaders of the Chinese house churches secretly met with each other last year in Beijing, which marked the first significant step towards reconciliation in decades.It was reported that the two parties joined together as negotiators instead of opponents. It was also said that the meeting was at a crucial time because this year is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the P.R.C.,and the Chinese government desires a national celebration without any disturbance.The Times reported on the rapid increase of the Chinese Christian population in recent years.The Chinese officials privately estimate there are about 130,000,000 Christians in China, many of whom belong to the house churches.The number of Christians in China far exceeds the population of the Communist Party members (Currently there are 74,000,000 Communist Party members).The church leaders believe that this is one of the reasons why the official Chinese think tank-Research Center of the State Council-summoned two breakthrough conferences in late 2008.It was reported that the majority of those who attended the first conference were academics and lawyers, many of whom are house church members; the second conference brought together six house church leaders.
NGOs Arrange House Church Research Conference

Dr. Fan, Yafeng, an academic of Law in Beijing, organized and attended the meeting on December 1st, 2008. In the meeting, they discussed the treatment of the house churches’ development and the issues in regarding the house churches’ identity. According to Dr. Fan’s description, it was a small-scale meeting among NGOs, which was not how it was promoted-namely,that it was authorized by and was given under the auspices of the Chinese government to get to know the situation of the house churches and create a dialogue with the two groups. “The conference was a small internal research meeting that an NGO hosted to prepare for a research report on house church issues. One thing I can confirm, this meeting did not have official Chinese backing or authorization to begin a dialogue with house church leaders,” said Dr. Fan. According to an anonymous organizer, the meeting attendees consisted of three groups: specialists and lawyers on religious freedom regarding the relationship of religion and legality; house church leaders and academics from NGOs in the related field. “We hope that, through discussions on the relationship between the house churches and the government, we will impact future policy on religion. We hope the new policy will improve the politics-religion relationship.”
To read more go to:

http://chinaaid.org/2009/02/26/voice-of-america-report-reveals-that-meeting-between-beijing-house-church-leaders-and-government-officials-was-misreported/

As in the days of Noah...

Kurd Church Service

Churches worldwide under attack

International (ODM/MNN)-The murder last week of an Illinois pastor horrified Americans. It's not a common occurrence in the U.S., but Open Doors says deadly violence against believers around the world occurs on a daily basis."Most Christians in the United States don't know this kind of violence happens every day in some restrictive countries around the world...places like Iraq, Iran, India and Pakistan. And the attacks are directed against Christians. They are caught in the crossfire," says Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. Carl Moeller."People don't think that kind of persecution could happen in the U.S., but it is starting to happen. That's why we must unite in prayer with our brothers and sisters around the world."On the same day Rev. Fred Winters, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Maryville, was killed, a village pastor in India's Bihar State was seriously wounded when an attacker tried to kill him to stop him from preaching the Gospel.Police Inspector Hari Krishna Mandal told Compass Direct News that the attacker, Rajesh Singh, had come fully prepared to kill the pastor, Vinod Kumar, and then take his own life.Church members caught Singh before he could kill himself or others.A week ago, Compass Direct News reported a gun and club attack on a Presbyterian church and neighboring homes in the predominantly-Christian area of a village in Pakistan. One woman was killed and 16 people wounded.Open Doors estimates 100 million Christians are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Torture, imprisonment, harassment and murder are all directed towards Christians."Last month Open Doors released its annual World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians suffer the most severe persecution," says Moeller."It was headed by North Korea again, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Those countries are always among the top persecutors."Could the United States be listed there some day? Perhaps. On Monday March 12, a study revealed the number of people calling themselves Christians in the U.S. has significantly dropped over the last two decades. We need to be on our guard to protect our precious freedom of religion in the U.S. and advocate for those who don't share our freedom. We also need to be ready to share our faith, no matter what the cost."
Keep praying for the church leaders working in restrictive nations.
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12423

As in the days of Noah...

Minister beaten after clashing with Muslims on his TV show

A Christian minister who has had heated arguments with Muslims on his TV Gospel show has been brutally attacked by three men who ripped off his cross and warned:"If you go back to the studio, we’ll break your legs." The Reverend Noble Samuel was driving to the studio when a car pulled over in front of him. A man got out and came over to ask him directions in Urdu.Mr Samuel, based at Heston United Reformed Church, West London, said:"He put his hand into my window, which was half open, and grabbed my hair and opened the door.He started slapping my face and punching my neck. He was trying to smash my head on the steering wheel.Then he grabbed my cross and pulled it off and it fell on the floor. He was swearing. The other two men came from the car and took my laptop and Bible."The Metropolitan Police are treating it as a ‘faith hate’ assault and are hunting three Asian men.In spite of the attack, Mr Samuel went ahead with his hour-long live Asian Gospel Show on the Venus satellite channel from studios in Wembley,North London. During the show the Muslim station owner Tahir Ali came on air to condemn the attack. Pakistan-born Mr Samuel, 48, who was educated by Christian missionaries and moved to Britain 15 years ago, said that over the past few weeks he has received phone-in calls from people identifying themselves as Muslims who challenged his views."They were having an argument with me,"he said."They were very aggressive in saying they did not agree with me. I said those are your views and these are my views."He said that he, his wife Louisa, 48, and his son Naveed, 19, now fear for their safety, and police have given them panic alarms."I am frightened and depressed," he said."My show is not confrontational."

By Jonathan Petre

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1162039/Minister-beaten-clashing-Muslims-TV-show.html

As in the days of Noah....

Illinois Christian Schools Told to Silence Prayers before Sporting Events

The Illinois High School Association has decided Christian schools cannot broadcast prayers-or any religious announcements-over their public address systems on days they host state sports tournaments.The ban comes on the tail end of the state basketball tournament.Marty Hickman, executive director of the group, said he was not trying to make a political statement. “Our attorney’s position and our position is that it’s against the law,” he told CitizenLink.Several Christian schools complained about the policy to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).“Not only does it not violate the Establishment Clause, but it violates the free-speech rights of private schools,” said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for ADF. The Alliance Defense Fund has offered to represent the state free of charge if it changes the policy and is challenged in court.Hickman said he would be open to changing the policy on the advice of his attorney.
By Steve Jordahl

http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000009559.cfm

As in the days of Noah...

Egyptian Christian Burned Alive; Father Murdered Also

A young Christian man was suddenly set on fire by a Muslim man in Egypt after a rumor circulated that the Christian man had a relationship with the Muslim man’s sister.Yasser Ahmed Qasim approached 25-year-old Sabri Shihata and poured gasoline on the Coptic Christian and then set him on fire, reported the Voice of the Copts on Friday. The young Copt tried to put out the fire by throwing himself into a nearby canal, but the burns were too severe and he later died. His 60-year-old father, Sabri Shihata, later arrived at a village rally where a group of Muslims stabbed him to death. One stab reportedly entered his back and came out of his abdomen below the rib cage, according to Voice of the Copts. The elder Shihata was taken to the hospital but nevertheless died from the attacks. The Muslim group also attacked the Coptic man’s younger brother, 22-year-old Rami Sabri Shihata, causing a deep injury to his head.Local police have arrested those involved in the attack, including Yasser Ahmed Kassem, as well as victim Sabri Shihata, who is being held in custody at Dmas Hospital, located in the northern province of Qalubiya, north of Cairo. The perpetrators are charged with deliberate homicide.Security forces have also surrounded the victims’ house and extra security has been deployed throughout the village of 60,000 people.A media blackout has been put in place as the prosecution and the State Security Services continue investigation.In Egypt recently, sectarian violence has been on the rise as Christian-Muslim relations have been strained by conversions to Christianity and government opposition to recognizing the conversions.Furthermore, changes in living arrangements have also contributed to increased tension between the two groups. Previously, Christians and Muslims used to live peacefully in mixed communities, but recently the two groups have tended to live separately only among their own religious communities and there have been less interaction between the two groups.Egypt has the largest Christian population in the Middle East with an estimated 10 million Copts in Egypt, making up about 10 percent of the country’s population.

By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter

http://christianpost.com/Intl/Persecution/2009/03/egyptian-christian-burned-alive-father-murdered-also-10/index.html

As in the days of Noah...

Church Shooter Hoped Attack Would Spur More

An unemployed trucker seething over liberalism told police he opened fire in a Tennessee church last year, hoping others would follow his lead...

Franklin Graham Responds to Ill. Church Shooting

The son of evangelist Billy Graham responded to the death of a pastor of an Illinois church, who was shot at church Sunday while preaching from the pulpit.Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said he knew Pastor Fred Winters because the organization was collaborating with pastors around the St. Louis area on a youth evangelistic concert that was scheduled to be held in the area in August."I am deeply saddened at this tragic loss," Graham, who was in London when he received the news, said in a statement. "Our prayers go out to Pastor Winters' wife, Cyndie Lee, and their two children, Alysia Grace and Cassidy Hope, as well as the others wounded and all of those affected by this senseless act of violence today.""It was my joy to meet Pastor Winters recently while I was in St. Louis," added Graham. "I was looking forward to working with him this summer. His presence will be sorely missed."Graham, who also heads evangelistic relief organization Samaritan's Purse, was on his way home to the United States after meeting last week with the Sudanese on issues including religious freedom, human rights, extended focus on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and the complexities of Darfur."At a time when the world is experiencing so much suffering, an event like this underscores our need to place our trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," said the evangelist....

By Katherine T. Phan
Christian Post Reporter

To read more go to:

http://christianpost.com/Society/General/2009/03/franklin-graham-responds-to-ill-church-shooting-09/index.html

As in the days of Noah...

Experts: Churches Big and Small Need Security Plan

ST. LOUIS-Megachurches with large audiences have long planned for emergencies, but smaller churches often aren't ready for a crisis, experts say.First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill., where the Rev. Fred Winters was shot and killed during a sermon Sunday was an exception. It initiated a security and emergency plan six months ago, but church officials would not say what it entailed. The plan did not prevent an attack. Terry J. Sedlacek, 27, was charged Monday with first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the assault that killed Winters and left Sedlacek and two congregants who tackled him with stab wounds.Still, emergency plans are important, said First Baptist associate pastor Mark Jones."I hate to say this, but unfortunately I believe other churches need to follow that example," he said. "We need to be ready, we need to be prepared, but at the same time, we're not going to live in a state of fear."Televangelist churches and most megachurches with up to 5,000 congregants have coordinated security plans and undercover guards for high-profile ministers and assistants, said Dave Travis, managing director with the Leadership Network, a nonprofit that fosters church innovation nationwide.First Baptist, with 1,200 congregants, and even smaller churches are among the most vulnerable, he said."They tend to be fairly well known in the community, but not quite large enough to have thought through security issues," he said.His firm advises clients that every church needs a written security plan and an open discussion of the church's vulnerabilities.Churches are "soft targets"-easily accessible places with little or no security, said Jeffrey Hawkins, executive director of the Christian Security Network.After a church shooting last year in Knoxville, Tenn., a survey of Christian churches found 75 percent had no security or emergency plans, Hawkins said. The network's own poll of 250 U.S. churches showed a third had a security incident of some kind in the past year.The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist in Knoxville did not have a security plan in place last July when an out-of-work truck driver went on a shooting spree, killing two people and wounding six. After consulting with police and crime experts, the church developed a plan that includes hiring sextons, not armed security guards, to watch for suspicious behavior."We want to be welcoming, we responded with love," said church board member Jayne Raparelli. "We kept our doors open. We don't make people go through metal detectors."
Raparelli could not say whether having a security plan would have stopped the shooter from executing killings he "had planned" and "wanted to do."For decades, security has been a major focus for Jewish organizations because of terror attacks in Israel and on Jews elsewhere.The Anti-Defamation League distributes a security manual that covers topics from armed intruders to bomb threats. National Jewish groups recently formed the Secure Community Network to oversee safety for Jewish groups nationwide.Boosting security can be contrary to the mission of houses of worship, said the Network's national director, Paul Goldenberg."On the one hand, you want to be accommodating," he said. "On the other hand, the world has changed."You don't want iron gates and armed guards, but houses of worship do need to train staff, congregants and ushers to identify and respond to such threats as an emotionally disturbed person," Goldenberg said.After a man in Colorado went on a shooting spree at two religious facilities in 2007, the Mosaic Church in Little Rock, Ark., established a group of ushers trained in security measures but designed to uphold the church's image as a sacred place-not an armed church.The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group based in Washington, has published security guidelines and safety tips for mosques in response to assaults on mosques and American Muslims after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The Christian Security Network recommends churches assess their risk for everything from fire and tornadoes to vandalism, burglary, sexual molestation and shootings, then build a plan.So far this year, churches in 39 states have reported 141 incidents, including burglaries and bomb threats.The biggest hurdle is overcoming the mentality that such incidents "can't happen here," Hawkins said."If you don't think it could happen to you, you won't be mentally prepared," he said. "You won't take it to heart."
Associated Press Religion Writer Rachel Zoll and writer Jim Suhr in Maryville, Ill., contributed to this report.

http://christianpost.com/church/General/2009/03/experts-churches-big-and-small-need-security-plan-10/index.html

As in the days of Noah....

Remembering Pastor Fred Winters....

This 2001 photo shows Rev. Fred Winters in front of the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill. A gunman walked down the aisle of the church on Sunday, March 8, 2009 during a Sunday service and killed pastor Winters, then stabbed himself and slashed two other people as congregants wrestled him to the ground, authorities said.

(Photo: AP Images /The News-Democrat, Steve Nagy)

http://www.christianpost.com/services/gallery/?date=2009-03-14&page=2&url=/img/a-Image/20090314/40121/fred-winters.jpg&i=40127&articleID=37492

PS:Please remember Pastor Winters family,friends and congregation in your prayers.Also remember to pray for the killer...he needs Jesus today...

As in the days of Noah....

Church Shooting Suspect Had Arsenal in Bedroom

ST. LOUIS-A man accused of running down and shooting an Illinois pastor to death mid-sermon left an arsenal of guns in his bedroom as well as an index card marked "Last Day Will."The arsenal in accused gunman Terry Sedlacek's room included two 12-gauge shotguns, a rifle and a box of 550 .22-caliber bullets, according to court documents filed Tuesday.The inventory of items seized from Sedlacek's Troy, Ill., home also lists the "Last Day Will" index card but does not detail what else was written on it. Sedlacek's day planner also singled out Sunday as "death day," prosecutor William Mudge has said.Authorities have said Sedlacek, 27, fired four times from a .45-caliber Glock handgun, hitting the Rev. Fred Winters once with a bullet that ripped through the preacher's heart before he collapsed and bled to death Sunday at First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill.Authorities said Sedlacek also brought to the church enough ammunition to perhaps kill 30 people.Sedlacek is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery, the latter charges related to his alleged wounding with a knife of two congregants who wrestled him to the ground and subdued him after the shooting...

By AP

To read more go to:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,508627,00.html

PS:This tragedy could have been a whole lot worse...Please remember to pray for this congregation....

As in the days of Noah...

Church resumes services week after pastor slain

MARYVILLE, Ill. (AP)-The church whose senior pastor was gunned down during his sermon resumed services Sunday with support from a guest preacher whose church in Texas also was bloodied by a gunman's rampage.The Rev. Al Meredith of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, opened his sermon to roughly 200 people at First Baptist Church's early service by apologizing that he wasn't "Pastor Fred.""I'm so sorry it's just me," Meredith said as he choked back tears. "I am so sorry this happened to you. We're praying for you."Police said the Rev. Fred Winters was shot through the heart during last weekend's early service at First Baptist by Terry Sedlacek. Police said he later tried to injure himself with a knife, wounding two men who subdued him.On Sunday, two dozen police officers stood outside the main doors, partly because some congregants had voiced fear about whether it was safe returning to the church.During his sermon, Meredith told the Maryville congregation that he came to "be with you to let you know there is hope" and that "you're never gonna get over this, but with God's grace you're gonna get through it."Meredith, 62, spoke about his own experience at Wedgwood Baptist, where a man opened fire on Sept. 15, 1999, killing seven people and wounding seven others.The Wedgwood attacker, Larry Gene Ashbrook, 47, had two guns, 200 rounds of ammunition and a pipe bomb in his pockets. He rolled one bomb down the aisle before killing himself. Investigators didn't have a motive but suggested that he was mentally ill.Investigators in Maryville said they found in Sedlacek's bedroom an index card marked "Last Day Will" and a planner that singled out that Sunday as "death day." Police have yet to find a motive. Sedlacek, who was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery, was being held without bail.Rosanna Kosek, 60, attended the early service Sunday and said Meredith's words of comfort resonated."It reaffirmed my thoughts that I'm on the right track," said Kosek, who wasn't at the service in which Winters was killed. "I wanted to come to the early one because I wanted to say I am not afraid. Evil is not going to keep me away from church."

http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov-stlouis-090315-maryville-church.3ae8b878.html

As in the days of Noah....

Widow of Slain Illinois Pastor Says She Prays for Shooting Suspect

MARYVILLE, Ill.-The widow of a slain southwestern Illinois pastor said Saturday she and her daughters are praying for the man accused of gunning down her husband during a sermon last weekend.During a news conference outside First Baptist Church in this St. Louis suburb, Cindy Winters said she and her two daughters are also praying for Terry Sedlacek's family, according to a report in the Belleville News-Democrat."Terry, Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins, including the ones that you committed last Sunday," Winters read from a prepared statement.Sedlacek of Troy is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the Rev. Fred Winters. He's also charged with two counts of aggravated battery that accuse him of injuring two churchgoers. He's pleaded not guilty.It remains unclear whether Sedlacek even knew Fred Winters. He's accused of striding into the church on March 8 and firing four shots at the pastor, hitting him once in the heart.After his gun jammed, police say he pulled out the knife and wrestled with two congregants who subdued him. All three suffered knife wounds.Cindy Winters thanked people for their prayers, e-mails and cards."People we don't even know have taken the time to express in such beautiful, meaningful ways their concern and compassion," she said."I have been so touched and have had a hard time finding words to express the depth of my gratitude."She also thanked the media for "capturing the heart and passion of my husband and this congregation of believers."Earlier Saturday, the 27-year-old Sedlacek appeared in court via video hookup. He was barefoot and wore a blue robe as Madison County Associate Judge James Hackett read the charges against him.Attorney Ron Slemer, a part-time public defender, withdrew from the case Friday.Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski was appointed after Sedlacek's parents submitted affidavits saying he can't afford to hire his own lawyer.Sedlacek is being held apart from the general population at the Madison County Jail, Hackett said.A preliminary hearing is set for March 27.

http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov-stlouis-090314-sedlacek-public-defender.36b26bfc.html

As in the days of Noah...

Slain Pastor's Wife:"I Refuse to Let Satan Win"

Rev. Tom Cowin, pastor at The Rock Church of St. Louis, kneels during the memorial service for Rev. Fred Winters, the slain pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville on Friday, March 13, 2009, in Maryville, Ill.(Photo: AP Images / Robert Cohen, Pool)

A casket is wheeled out of the sanctuary at the end of a memorial service for slain Pastor Fred Winters at First Baptist Church, Friday, March 13, 2009, in Maryville, Ill.(Photo: AP Images / Robert Cohen, Pool)

Cindy Winters eulogizes her husband, Rev. Fred Winters, who was shot dead in his church while delivering his Sunday sermon, at his funeral, at First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill., Friday March 13, 2009. 'On Sunday, my husband did not die...He just simply got a promotion,' Cindy Winters said in her eulogy.(Photo: AP Images / Robert Cohen, Pool)

MARYVILLE, Ill.-The widow of a pastor killed in mid-sermon urged mourners to reject hate and to take comfort in their faith at his funeral Friday, in the church where he was gunned down five days earlier."On Sunday, my husband didn't die. He simply got a promotion," Cindy Winters said. She raised a hand to the sky as the "Movin' on Up" theme from "The Jeffersons" blared from the loudspeakers and the standing-room-only crowd rose to its feet at First Baptist Church in this St. Louis suburb.Fred Winters was eulogized as a coupon-clipping brainiac who never forgot a name and a devoted family man whose love for basketball was outmatched by his passion for the Bible.The 45-year-old had a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees and a doctorate, but his wife joked,"I could never teach him how to fold laundry." Winters' closed casket was just feet from where his life ended Sunday, when authorities say Terry Sedlacek, 27, entered the church with a .45-caliber Glock handgun and enough bullets to kill 30 people. Investigators say his eyes were fixed on the preacher as he walked down an aisle toward the altar.The first shot clipped the Bible Winters was clutching, sending pieces of it spraying like confetti in what some of the 150 onlookers thought at first was a skit.After Sedlacek's gun jammed, police say, he pulled out a knife and wrestled with two congregants who subdued him. All three were wounded.None of Friday's speakers mentioned Sedlacek by name, instead casting the slaying as the work of Satan and the forces of evil. The theme: Channel the grief into greater spirituality."Our vision and our purpose still remains the same," Cindy Winters told mourners, some of whom watched a video feed from a nearby gymnasium because the church was packed."You know what? I refuse to let Satan win," she continued."I'm not going to hate. And I'm not going to survive this thing-I'm going to be a better person because of this thing."Winters said her two young daughters told her, "I want everyone to come to know Jesus through this.I hope the man who did this learns to love Jesus."She also quoted the children as saying that Sunday was not "death day" for their father, a reference to the phrase the alleged gunman wrote in his day planner."It was celebration day, the best day of his life" because he reached heaven, they said.Sedlacek was being held without bond in Madison County jail on charges of murder and armed criminal action after being transferred from St. Louis to Illinois on Friday afternoon. He had been hospitalized in St. Louis for treatment of self-inflicted stab wounds, then spent Thursday night in the St. Louis city jail."The reasons may not be fully understood until we get to glory and are reunited," said Tim Cowin, a pastor at St. Louis' Rock Hill Baptist Church."I believe in all my heart that Pastor Fred died as a hero and as a martyr"-a hero for perhaps drawing the gunman's fire away from Sunday's crowd, martyr because he died in spiritual service.Referring to what authorities said was Sedlacek's calm walk down the aisle before opening fire, the Rev. Bob Dickerson, a former minister at the church, told mourners:"I can't help but think the first thought Fred had just those moments before this terrible deed was...here's somebody that can't wait to receive Jesus Christ and that's why he stepped out to greet him in those few moments."
By Associated Press Writer
Jim Suhr

http://www.christianpost.com/church/General/2009/03/slain-pastor-s-wife-i-refuse-to-let-satan-win-14/index.html

As in the days of Noah....

Pastor Killed in Ill. Church Shooting

A gunman walked down the aisle of a church during a Sunday service and killed the pastor, then stabbed himself and slashed two other people as parishioners wrestled him to the ground, authorities said.

Pastor Dead, 2 Injured After Shooting at a First Baptist Church in Illinois

An Illinois pastor was shot and killed, and two parishioners injured after an unknown gunman opened fire during Sunday services at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill.A gunman walked down the church aisle and briefly spoke to the pastor before shooting during the 8:15 a.m service.Rev. Fred Winters used the Bible he was reading from to shield himself from the first round of bullets being pumped at him, a parishioner told FOX News.The gunman's .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol jammed after the fourth shot was fired. The suspect then started stabbing himself with a four-inch knife, Ralph Timmins of the Illinois State Police told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.Timmins said the gunman slashed two parishioners when they tried to subdue him.Rev.Winters was shot three times, and was pronounced dead at Anderson Hospital.The gunman and one stabbing victim, 39-year-old Terry Bullard, underwent surgery at St. Louis University Hospital, spokeswoman Laura Keller said. Bullard was in serious condition, she said.The other victim, Keith Melton, was treated and released from Gateway Regional Medical Center, spokeswoman Kate Allaria said. A man who answered the phone at a listing for Keith Melton in Troy identified himself as Melton's stepson and said Melton had been stabbed but was going to be fine.Illinois State Police say they are 99 percent sure they have the identity of the suspect, but have not released his name pending possible charges. They have confirmed he is 27-years-old and from Troy, Ill.The Rev. Mark Jones, another pastor at First Baptist, said he did not recognize the gunman, who Jones saw briefly before he pulled his weapon. Jones then went into an adjacent room and did not see the shooting, though he heard a sound like miniature fire crackers."We have no idea what this guy's motives were," Jones said outside the church."We don't know if we'll ever know that."Police said there were about 150 people in the church at the time of the shooting.Linda Cunningham was sitting near the back of the church when the gunman walked up the aisle. She told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she figured the man was confused about what time the service started because of daylight savings time.Cunningham told the Post-Dispatch she, as well as others, didn't recognize the gunman.Some parishioners believe the gunman used church bulletins to conceal his weapon."All you could see was confetti" Cunningham told the Post-Dispatch.The church has an average attendance of more than 1,200 and was officially organized on March 4, 1945, according to their Web site.

Click here to read more on this story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Click here to read more on this story from MyFOX2Now.com in St. Louis.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506820,00.html

As in the days of Noah...

INDIA:"Pastor Shot in Bomb Attack on Church";Attacker said he aimed to stop Christian conversions;Hindu extremist connection suspected.

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Compass Direct News)In an effort to stop conversions to Christianity in the eastern state of Bihar, a 25-year-old ailing man on Sunday (March 8) exploded a crude bomb in a church and shot the pastor.Police Inspector Hari Krishna Mandal told Compass that the attacker, Rajesh Singh, had come fully prepared to kill the pastor, Vinod Kumar, in Baraw village in the Nasriganj area of Rohtas district, and then take his own life.“However,”Mandal said, “believers caught him before he could do more damage or kill himself.”The 35-year-old pastor was taken to a hospital in nearby Varanasi, in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh and at press time was out of danger of losing his life, according to a leader of Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS) who requested anonymity.The church, Prarthana Bhawan (House of Prayer), belongs to GEMS.Around 30 people were in the church when the attack took place. Some women in the church sustained burns in the blast.“Rajesh Singh threw a crude bomb from the window of the church, and the sound of the explosion created a chaos in the congregation,” said Inspector Mandal. As members of the church began to run out, he added, Singh came into the building and shot the pastor with a handmade pistol from point-blank range.Singh had more bombs to explode and three more bullets in his pistol, but church members caught hold of him and handed him over to police, the inspector said.“In his statement, Singh said he was personally against Christian conversions and wanted to kill the pastor to stop conversions,” Mandal said. “He wanted to take his own life after killing the pastor, and this is why he had more bullets in his pistol and an overdose of anesthesia in a syringe.”Asked if Singh had any links with extremist Hindu nationalist groups, the inspector said no such organization was active in the area, though local Christians say Hindu extremist presence has increased recently. The GEMS source said people allegedly linked with a Hindu nationalist group had sent a threatening letter to the pastor, asking him to stop preaching in the area.The source said the incident could have been fallout from conversions in nearby Mithnipur village, where a Hindu family had received Christ after being healed from a mental illness around six months ago. Singh also lives in Mithnipur.“Pastor Kumar had not been visiting the village, fearing opposition from the villagers who were not happy with the conversion of this family,” the GEMS source said. “The same church’s cross had also been damaged about a year ago by unidentified people.”The source said he believes that although Singh’s affiliation or linkage with a Hindu nationalist group has not been established, it is likely that he was instigated to kill the pastor by an extremist group. Pastor Kumar, married with three children, has been working in Rohtas district for the last 12 years.Local Christians complain that the presence of the Hindu extremist Sangh Parivar (a family of organizations linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, India’s chief Hindu nationalist group) has recently increased in the area. They say the Hindu nationalist conglomerate has been spewing hate against Christians for more than 10 years, accusing them of using monetary incentives and fraudulent means and foreign money to convert Hindus.The attacker has an amputated hand and was said to be mentally disturbed since 1996, when he was diagnosed with cancer, Inspector Mandal said.“According to the villagers,” he said, “Singh had been mentally disturbed ever since he was diagnosed with cancer, and later tuberculosis, although there is no medical report to substantiate this.”The government of Bihar is ruled by a coalition of a regional party, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) party, and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The JD-U is also part of the National Democratic Alliance, the main opposition coalition at the federal level led by the BJP. The JD-U, however, is not perceived as a supporter of Hindu nationalism.Of the 82 million people, mostly Hindu, in Bihar, only 53,137 are Christian, according to the 2001 census.
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5845&backpage=summaries&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=

As in the days of Noah...

Pakistan: Christian nurse under fire over Muslim prayer room

The Christian chief warden of a nurses’ hall of residence in Lahore is at risk of attack from a fanatical Muslim colleague, warns CLAAS UK.Mrs Purses Gulzereen is chief warden at the hall for women training at the nursing school of the Children’s Hospital, where she is a senior lecturer. For the last six months, Mrs Purses has been embroiled in a conflict with a senior trainee doctor, Dr Naila of the Rehaim Yar Khan district, who has been living in the hall for the last two years. Dr Naila, who is believed to have links to some fanatical Islamic organisations, demanded around eight months ago that the 400 Muslim girls living at the hall be granted their own special prayer room. With the consent of the hall administration, Mrs Purses provided a large hall where the Muslim students could offer their prayers five times a day and hold religious gatherings.The Christian girls in the hall, numbering around 80, subsequently requested their own prayer room and, with the consent of the administration, Mrs Purses offered them a small room, which she furnished with money from her personal funds and also provided Bibles and other related reading material.Dr Naila, however, reportedly became aggressive towards the Christian girls and hall staff after they were granted their own prayer space, but especially towards Mrs Purses.In particular, Dr Naila wrote letters to the administration complaining that Mrs Purses was granting special favours to the Christian members of staff and that she was using the Christian prayer room to spread Christianity around the hall, convert the Muslim girls to Christianity, and westernise the hall’s Islamic character.Fanatical Muslim students reportedly came together with Dr Naila in acting aggressively after the establishment of the Christian prayer room. The hospital administration responded by ordering Mrs Purses to close down the Christian prayer room but she argued that if the Christian prayer room were to be closed down, the Muslim prayer room should also be closed. The administration took the decision to close both prayer rooms.Dr Naila then reportedly misled local newspapers by telling them the Christian chief warden of the hall had closed down a mosque and stopped Muslim students and staff from offering their prayers, thereby preventing them from fulfilling their religious duties. She also repeated her previous allegation that Mrs Purses had tried to spread Christianity among the students at the hall.Meanwhile, Dr Naila distributed Muslim literature to the students, including the Christians, whom she invited to embrace Islam. When the hospital administration told Dr Naila to stop such activities at Mrs Purses’ behest, Dr Naila suspected the chief warden’s intervention and started a campaign for her dismissal, as well as that of two Christian assistant wardens.She also reportedly started telling the Muslim nurses that all hall staff must be Muslims and that Islam was in danger under Christian management.The hospital administration reportedly became alarmed because of Dr Naila’s close links with fanatical Islamic organisations.
Two Christian assistant wardens were subsequently dismissed from their posts and two Muslim nurses appointed in their place. The administration also reportedly want to replace Mrs Purses as chief warden but have yet to find a candidate who matches her in suitability, seeing as she has managed the hall since it first opened.Mrs Purses says she has received threatening calls from unidentified individuals telling her to let the Muslim students have their prayer room back. The hospital administration has told her it cannot help her in this matter and it has warned her that an Islamic organisation is on the look out for her.Mrs Purses has contacted CLAAS for help in finding a solution to the conflict. She fears particularly for the safety of her husband and three children. The CLAAS legal team has assured Mrs Purses of its help.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pakistan.christian.nurse.under.fire.over.muslim.prayer.room/22729.htm

As in the days of Noah...

SRI LANKA:Anti-conversion law may draw more to faith

Sri Lanka (MNN)-Throughout the world, it remains that wherever persecution increases,growth in the church increases as well.This truth brings hope to believers in Sri Lanka as it seems a proposed anti-conversion law will inevitably be passed.Vice President of Gospel for Asia Danny Yohannan says that, if passed, the new law will keep people from "coercion," essentially implying that Christians cannot give food to the starving or shelter for the homeless with the intent of ever sharing the Gospel.Yohannan notes that proposed laws have been kept vague on purpose. "They try to keep it as general as possible so they can really catch anyone doing anything to put them in prison."The law will be voted on officially sometime this month. If passed, it may cause GFA missionaries to come up with more subtle ways of sharing the Gospel. But Yohannan says it will undoubtedly be spread more than ever. GFA and many other Mission Network News mission partners have experienced growth in the church as it comes under heavy scrutiny."What we've seen, like in Orissa [India] with the persecution that happened a few months ago, is that there was actually more people coming to Christ and more churches being planted because of this. So if they do pass this law, what we're going to see is actually more people getting saved. People will think, ‘Why did they pass this law? Why are they doing this toward Christians?' Then they're going to ask, ‘What do Christians believe?' And then they're going to come to Christ."GFA missionaries in the country have not been deterred by the proposed bill. Yohannan says they expect persecution when they become followers of Christ and will continue to be trained in the Bible and evangelism.In the meantime, GFA needs your help. Funding is necessary to maintain programs and to sponsor missionaries in Sri Lanka and surrounding countries.

If you can help with this, click here.

But more than anything, please pray.
"Every believer can pray, at least every single day, that God would raise up more laborers for the work of the harvest."

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12288

As in the days of Noah..

Religious freedom attacked in Myanmar

Myanmar (MNN)-At least 100 churches have been forced to stop holding services in Myanmar (Burma) after military officials made some 50 pastors sign documents promising to do so. They were told that if they did not comply, they would be jailed.According to Gospel for Asia, Myanmar has been held under an oppressive military regime since 1962. Many believe that the recent violation of religious freedom was an attempt by the military regime to put a stop to Christianity altogether in the country.Myanmar is 89 percent Buddhist, and the regime does not look lightly on conversions. Some Christians speculate that the military has been keeping a keen eye on them since they began relief work after the May 2008 cyclone, nervous that Christianity would spread as a result.Most frightening about the recent moves to eliminate church services is the potential threat to personal worship. Most churches that have had to cease meeting are home churches, making Christians anxious that they may no longer be able to worship in their homes.Gospel for Asia reported that all of the affected churches have been in the Yangon (Rangoon) area, and none of its churches have been directly affected by the deliberate infringements.GFA missionaries, however, are certainly not left without concern.They ask for prayer that the Lord would change the hearts of political leaders in Myanmar for justice in regard to religious freedom. They also ask for prayers for wisdom and steadfastness for believers and missionaries in the region. Pray that the Lord would do a mighty work in Myanmar and that the church would continue to grow despite obstacles.
To learn more about GFA's work within Myanmar, click here. http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12345

As in the days of Noah...

Underground - The youth division of Open Doors

Open Doors - Serving Persecuted Christians worldwide. Underground is the youth division of Open Doors which exists to raise awareness of the plight of over 200 Million Christians worldwide.

KENYA:'Church Struggling after Islamists destroy building;Six months after attack,Muslim assailants still at large,weary congregation faces heat,rain

Church Still Meeting in Open Air

GARISSA, Kenya, March 5(Compass Direct News)Six months after a gang of Muslim youths ruined a church building in this town in northern Kenya, Christians still worshipping in the sweltering heat of the open air say they feel disillusioned that officials have done nothing to punish the culprits or restore their structure.On a sunny afternoon last Sept. 14, when angry Muslim youths threw more than 400 members of the Redeemed Gospel Church out of their church building, the Christians hoped they would be able to return to the ruins of their former structure. That hope is quickly giving way to anger, hopelessness and despair.“After six months in the open, the church feels tired and cheated,” said pastor David Matolo. “We are fed up with the empty promises from the government administration.”He said the church, which began worshipping in Garissa in early 2001 with only a dozen members, is fast shrinking.“Our church membership has decreased, which is of great concern to me,” he told Compass.“The church thinks that the government has decided to buy time-almost every month I do book appointments with the relevant authorities, who on several occasions have given us a deaf ear.”Since the attack, church members have been meeting at the town show grounds. Just a few miles from the Somali border, the site has few trees to protect the congregation from the scorching sun, with temperatures ranging from 92 to 104 degrees F (30 to 40 degrees C).Asked why he thought government officials were reluctant to grant the church a permanent place of worship as promised, an irritated Matolo did not hesitate to reply.“The administration has decided, ‘kutesa [inflict pain on us],’ always making promises that never come to pass,” he said.“At times the provincial commissioner deliberately decides not to take my phone calls. I have had a painful experience.”Matolo said he has asked the administration either to allow the church to build a new structure on land lying idle near a police training college or to let them return to their original site.“We are ready for any eventuality,” he said.“We feel that the administration is not concerned about our spiritual welfare.”Asked about the pastor’s complaints, provincial police officer Stephen Chelimo told Compass,“The issue at the moment is not within my docket, but wholly rests upon the provincial commissioner.”But Provincial Commissioner Stephen Maingi said the onus rested on the district commissioner. “Let the district commissioner sort this issue with the pastor,” Maingi said.District Commissioner Onyango Ogango, in turn, indicated the church itself was the source of problems.“If the church is allowed to return to their original site, we will expect a fight to erupt with the Muslims,” Ogango said.“Earlier on, the church began very well during its initial stage of inception with controlled worship, but later it turned out to hold noisy prayers and loud songs.”Further questioned about these allegations, however, Ogango said he would call the pastor to discuss a resolution. Even so, Matolo said previous contact with the district commissioner did not leave him with high expectations.“Our district commissioner seemed to have no feelings for our predicament,” he said. “The faces of the congregation members speak a lot.”A glance at the worshippers confirmed his appraisal. They looked weary and anxious, with impending April rains expected to add to the indignity of their situation. Matolo said his congregation feels that soon it will be difficult to worship at all.Even a temporary home did not appear to be forthcoming. The pastor said their request for a site near the provincial commissioner’s residence was dismissed on the grounds that it would create a security concern.
Radical Islamic Influence
Tensions between Christians and the Muslim-majority population in the semi-desert town of 20,000 people began in June 2007, when Muslims built a mosque too close to the church building-only three meters separated the two structures.Matolo said pleas to District Commissioner Ogango did nothing to reverse the encroachment of Muslim worshippers.Land issues alone have not been responsible for tensions in the area. The Rev. Ibrahim Kamwaro, chairman of the Pastors’ Fellowship in Garissa, said Matolo had offended Muslims when he preached to a lame Muslim man. Muslims were said to be upset that the pastor persuaded the disabled man to stop going to the mosque and instead join his church.Matolo’s alleged promise to the disabled man of a better life offended area Muslims, Rev. Kamwaro said.Christians feel increasingly hunted and haunted as the spread of Islamic extremism is fast gaining ground in this town, located about 400 kilometers (249 miles) from Nairobi, the capital.In neighboring Somalia, newly elected President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Feb. 28 offered the introduction of sharia (Islamic law) in exchange for a truce with a rebel extremist group said to have ties to al Qaeda, al Shabaab; the rebels said they would keep fighting. Many fear that Muslim youths in this lawless part of Kenya will be tempted to adopt the radical, uncompromising posture of the fighters.To date, the gang of more than 50 Muslim youths who attacked worshippers and brought their church to ruins have not been apprehended. Members of the congregation feel justice is increasingly elusive.In Garissa, Muslims restrict churches in other ways. Christians are not allowed to pray, sing or use musical instruments in rented homes owned by Muslims. No teaching of Christian Religious Education in schools is allowed; only Islamic Religious Knowledge is taught.Garissa has more than 15 Christian denominations, including the East Africa Pentecostal Church, the Redeemed Gospel Church, the Anglican Church, Deliverance Church, Full Gospel Churches of Kenya and the African Inland Church.

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&length=long&lang=en&idelement=5843

As in the days of Noah...

EGYPT: Law Granting twins to muslim to be Reviewed;Christian mother wins right to high court appeal regarding ruling that favored Muslim father

ISTANBUL(Compass Direct News)Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud last week granted the mother of 14-year-old twins Andrew and Mario Medhat Ramses the right to appeal a custody decision awarding her sons to their Muslim father.Muslim convert Medhat Ramses Labib gained custody of the boys last September, contrary to Article 20 of Egypt’s Personal Status Law, which states children should remain with their mother until age 15. The boys’ mother, Kamilia Lotfy Gaballah, won the right to appeal on Feb. 11.“We all have a little bit of hope, new hope,” said George Ramses, the twins’ older brother. “Of course, they are a little afraid about everything, but generally they are excited.” With support from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Gaballah will appeal the Family Court’s decision awarding custody to the father before the Court of Cassation. Family Court decisions are not usually given recourse to the Court of Cassation, one of Egypt’s highest courts, and require special referral from a public prosecutor.EIPR Director Hossam Bahgat stressed that the Court of Cassation will be examining the law on which the decision was based, not the decision itself.
“The Court of Cassation will pronounce a decision on the legal rule that Christian children, when one of their parents converts to Islam, should be automatically moved to the Muslim parent’s custody,” he said. “So it is very important in terms of changing the legal rule, but according to the law it will not have a direct impact on Andrew and Mario themselves.”Preliminary hearings are scheduled to begin on March 2.The twins will celebrate their 15th birthday in June of this year. At 15, Egyptian children of divorcees have the legal right to choose which parent they want to live with. Ramses told Compass that he is skeptical about whether his brothers will be given this right.“The whole law is that kids should spend the first 15 years with their mum, and then they get to choose who they want to live with,” Ramses said.“Choosing is the second part of the rule that was not applied to us, so we don’t know actually what will be the case.”The boys’ father, Labib, converted to Islam in 1999 after divorcing Gaballah to marry another woman. In 2006 Labib altered the official religious status of the boys and later applied for custody.
Covenant Breaches
The boys are now at the center of two separate disputes, both of which have roots in the complex interaction between Islamic and secular law in Egypt: whether children should be automatically awarded to the Muslim parent, and whether they therefore should automatically convert to Islam.Custody battles between Muslim fathers and Christian mothers have typically been instances where Islamic law has predominated over secular legislation. Sharia (Islamic law), which the Egyptian constitution declares as being the source of law, states that a non-Muslim should not have authority over a Muslim.In the case of Andrew and Mario, this sharia provision meant that they should not be left under the jurisdiction of their non-Muslim mother. The automatic and compulsory conversion of the twins, following their father’s decision to become Muslim, is the second area of contention EIPR is working on behalf of Gaballah to resolve.The issue once again shows the contradictory stances of Egyptian civil law, which reflects both freedom of religion and Islamic thought. A fatwa (religious edict) issued by Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, regarding the case of Andrew and Mario states, “The religion of the two children should follow their Muslim father’s, unless they change their religion with full will after puberty.”Although this statement allows Andrew and Mario the right to choose their religion “after puberty,” conversion from Islam is not only extremely difficult in Egypt but also dangerous.Egypt has ratified a number of human rights treaties allowing advocacy groups like EIPR recourse to international watchdogs and advisory bodies.One of these, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), has agreed to examine the case.The commission has asked both parties to submit written statements by March in preparation for an initial hearing in May.The European Union of Coptic Organisations for Human Rights (EUCOHR) has also weighed in, petitioning the European Parliament for help.“We have gone to the European Parliament with a legal document detailing about 30 to 40 breaches of international covenants like the International Declaration of Human Rights,” said Ibrahim Habib, vice-chairman of EUCOHR.Habib said he hopes involving international bodies such as these will raise the profile of the case and put pressure on the Egyptian judiciary to rule impartially. Such attention could also have positive implications for the much harassed Coptic community at large.The report filed by EUCOHR and the U. S. Coptic Foundation for Legal Assistance, which explores violations of such pacts as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ends with this statement:“This is a call for justice and to save the two children from the coercion, persecution and injustice with which they are overburdened and, it is respectfully requested that a prompt action be taken to save those children and their future. Also, the annulment of the judgements against the two children is promptly requested.”

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5821&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=0

As in the days of Noah...

WALK IN THEIR SHOES

Over 200 Million Christians are persecuted for their Faith in Jesus everyday.Underground challenges you to 'Walk in Their Shoes'...Hebrews 13:3 "Remember those who are in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
USE YOUR FREEDOM - SUPPORT SECRET BELIEVERS
http://www.secretbelievers.org/

PS:Get involved....!Wear the shoelaces...!!!!Walk in their shoes...!!!
As in the days of Noah...

Time-Zone Crossing Prayer Wave to Circle Planet

A spiritual “shockwave” will start to make its way around the world in less than 12 hours as young Christians from Malaysia to the United States join together from their respective countries to pray for the millions of fellow believers who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.Starting on March 6 from New Zealand, youths there will kick off the annual 72-hour global prayer event called “Shockwave” that will traverse time zones and move through at least 30 countries worldwide.Some of the countries with scheduled Shockwave prayer events include Australia, India, Malaysia, Japan, South Africa, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada and the United States.During the prayer event, which ends on Sunday, youth groups and student ministries will organize young Christians to pray for persecuted Christians in Shockwave chat rooms, prayer meetings, at churches, and in homes. Some Shockwave prayer events will be all night, while others will take place in the evening or at a prayer breakfast.“Shockwave is a movement of prayer that allows the passion of young people’s hearts to be heard by God as we cry out and join together across the world in solidarity with our persecuted brothers and sisters,” says Scott Ahern, director of Innovative Strategies for Open Doors USA, in a statement.“This is truly a witness of the unity of the body of Christ when youth from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds and regions of the world join to pray for one cause-to lift up and support through prayer God’s suffering children,” he says.“I encourage you to journey with us for this exciting international event.”Shockwave is organized by Underground, the youth and student ministry of Open Doors, a ministry that supports persecuted churches and Christians.Students are asked to meditate on the verse found in Hebrews 13:2, which reads: “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourself were suffering.”An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer from interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with million more facing discrimination and alienation, according to Open Doors. The ministry helps believers in countries hostile to Christianity through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and advocacy on behalf of persecuted believers.Some of the countries with the worst Christian persecution record include North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Laos, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan, according to Open Doors’ 2009 World Watch List.
On the Web: www.odshockwave.org

By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter

http://www.christianpost.com/Intl/Persecution/2009/03/time-zone-crossing-prayer-wave-to-circle-planet-05/index.html

As in the days of Noah...

Anti-conversion bill coming to India's Karnataka?

India (MNN)The Hindu nationalist government in the southern state of Karnataka is planning to introduce an "anti-conversion" law that led to anti-Christian violence in other states. Karnataka recorded the second-highest number of attacks on Christians last year.Todd Nettleton(Left on picture with Greg Yoder at the NRB convention 2009)with Voice of the Martyrs says,"One of the things that this law might possibly require is for someone to stand in front of a magistrate and make the statement, 'I am changing my religion.' That would basically paint a target on that person's back and make him a potential victim of persecution and attacks."According to Nettleton, many Hindu extremists say these laws are needed because Christians are forcing Hindus to convert."Yet, when you actually study the fact and study the cases in one state, in 10 years there have been three cases. Only two of those involved Christians. So really, this law seeks to elevate a problem that actually doesn't exist."This law will only do more to create fear for Christians and do nothing to protect their rights as many Christians are forced to renounce their faith or threatened with violence. "I am not aware of any case where a Hindu has been prosecuted under the anti-conversion law for forcing someone to become Hindu." While persecution across India increases, Voice of the Martyrs is doing all they can to help the church. They're providing humanitarian aid, Christian books, Bibles, and ministry materials, but they're also helping the families who've been affected by persecution. "Some in Orissa have lost their homes. Some have been martyred for their faith, and we are able to help their families and help them financially to keep going on, even after the loss of the husband, the father and bread winner." A fund is available to help these suffering servants. "All of the money that comes into the fund goes directly to support families of those who are killed for their faith, those who make great sacrifices for the Gospel."
If you'd like to help Voice of the Martyrs care for Families of Martyrs, click here.

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12376

As in the days of Noah....

Fear spreads again through Orissa

India (MNN)The slaying of another Christian in India's Orissa state has rekindled persecution fears.Because this has not been an isolated incident, church leaders have raised their eyebrows on the government's security guarantees of safety for believers. Earlier this year,India's Supreme Court ordered the state government of Orissa to protect the tens of thousands of Christians being targeted by Hindu extremists.Tensions remained high even as the situation seemed to be resolving.With the newest discovery, there are fears that the region could erupt again.The body of 40-year-old Hrudayananda Nayak was found in a jungle near his home village of Rudangia, in Kandhamal district last Thursday.Once the worst of the violence in the region appeared to have settled down,Nayak left the relief camp where he had taken refuge and returned to his home village. Within 24 hours, he was dead. One church leader noted that Nayak was the fourth Christian to be abducted and killed after violence ebbed down by the end of October.JP Sundararajan with Audio Scripture Ministries says they've heard an alarming rumor. "The rumor-and it hasn't been really substantiated at this point-was that every 23rd of the month, or around that time,one Christian would be killed to commemorate the anniversary of this extremist who got gunned down." The violence that broke out in August of last year was sparked after Hindu fundamentalists accused Christians of slaying a local Hindu leader on Aug. 23, 2008, for which the Maoists had repeatedly claimed responsibility.Earlier this month the state government had announced the shutdown of relief camps in Kandhamal district.The National Council of Churches in India says victims are reluctant to return to their villages, due to increasing threats demanding "re-conversion to Hinduism."Whether or not Nayak's murder was connected to the rumor remains to be seen. Sundararajan says with the violence last fall and early this year, they've been in close contact with their team in Orissa.Sundararajan says they've found that "there has been tremendous growth in these areas where there have been terrible incidents of persecution."That's all that they need to move forward, despite the safety concerns.Sundararajan says there's a lot at stake."Next week, we're actually going into Orissa to do probably one of the biggest Scripture distributions that we have ever done.It's among the tribals-the people who have been undergoing the brunt of the persecution, the people who have been in the relief camps."

--Pray for safety and wisdom for their teams during the distributions.

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12343

As in the days of Noah...

16 Members of Congress Urge Secretary of State Clinton to Address Human Rights in China

USA-Prior to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s visit to the U.S. on March 9, 16 members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urging her to make certain her conversations with the Chinese government are consistent with the true state of deteriorating human rights conditions in China. The letter, which had bipartisan support, was issued in response to Secretary Clinton’s controversial remarks before and during her visit to China indicating a retreat on the priority of human rights issues in U.S.-China relations. Traveling to China February 20-22, Clinton met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders. She has been criticized by human rights groups for publically commenting that concerns about human rights abuses in China must not interfere with cooperation on the economic crisis, global warming and other issues.In their letter, the members of Congress also expressed their hope of “an Ambassador in Beijing who will be pro-active and engaged in the promotion of human rights with the highest level of the Chinese government” and their desire and willingness to work with the Secretary of State and the State Department to promote human rights throughout the world.ChinaAid commends the 16 signatories of the letter: Joseph R. Pitts (PA, 16th), Tim Ryan (OH, 17th), Trent Franks (AZ, 2nd), Bob Inglis (SC, 4th), Frank Wolf (VA, 10th), Mike Rogers (AL, 3rd), Mike Pence (IN, 6th), Dan Burton (IN, 5th), Michele Bachmann (MN, 6th), Scott Garrett (NJ, 5th), Michael Michaud (ME, 2nd), Chris Smith (NJ, 4th), Randy Neugebauer (TX, 19th), Thaddeus McCotter (MI, 11th), Donald Manzullo (IL, 16th) and John Boozman (AR, 3rd).
The following is the text of the letter: (Click here to view the original letter.)
U.S. Secretary of State

Hillary Rodham Clinton

2201 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton,
Congratulations on your recent confirmation as Secretary of State. There is no doubt that challenges lie ahead, but we look forward to working together to confront these challenges in the most effective way possible.
We commend you for addressing some of the common challenges facing China and the United States, such as security threats, weakened economies, and environmental concerns, during your recent trip to China. However, these complicated, multi-lateral issues will only be solved when the government and its people work together, with justice and mutual respect. These issues cannot and should not be separated from concerns about human rights and the rule of law. As long as practices of forced abortions, imprisonment of human rights lawyers, and persecution of unregistered churches continue, the people of China will be neither free nor safe.
It is ironic that the Chinese government, while claiming to pursue a harmonious society, simultaneously allows policies which bring harassment on those seeking to follow the law and serve in humanitarian projects. Yet, this is the case for house church Christians and many other religious groups throughout China. They first find their religious freedom denied, then their right to privacy, right to freedom of speech, and right to freedom of association.
The State Department Human Rights Report which was released on February 25th clearly describes a deterioration of human rights conditions in China during 2008. Please make certain that your conversations with the Chinese government are consistent with the findings of this report. We also look forward to an Ambassador in Beijing who will be pro-active and engaged in the promotion of human rights with the highest levels of the Chinese government. Lastly, we express our desire and willingness to work with you and your colleagues at the State Department to ensure continued U.S. involvement and leadership in promoting human rights throughout the world.
Sincerely,

Joseph R. Pitts

Tim Ryan

Trent Franks

Bob Inglis

Frank Wolf

Mike Rogers (AL)

Mike Pence

Dan Burton

Michele Bachmann

Scott Garrett

Michael Michaud

Chris Smith

Randy Neugebauer

Thaddeus McCotter

Donald Manzullo

John Boozman
Call or write to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to address human rights issues in China including the persecution of house church Christians. Click here to send an e-mail.
Communication Division:

PA/PL, Rm. 2206

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20520

202-647-6575
Send an e-mail to your Congressmen and Senators expressing your concern for human rights in China and ask them to speak out.
ChinaAid

http://chinaaid.org/2009/03/05/16-members-of-congress-urge-secretary-of-state-clinton-to-address-human-rights-in-china/

As in the days of Noah...

Bob Fu Speaks at Press Conference Regarding Secretary of State Clinton’s Controversial Remarks on Human Rights in China

Press conference speakers

Bob Fu speaks at the press conference

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, at 11 a.m. Bob Fu, President and Founder of ChinaAid, spoke at a press conference at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. regarding U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s controversial remarks over the past week indicating a retreat on the priority of human rights issues in U.S.-China relations.Traveling to China last weekend, Clinton met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders, while failing to meet with dissidents during her stay.She has been criticized by human rights groups for publically announcing that U.S. concerns about human rights abuses in China must not interfere with cooperation on the economic crisis, global warming and other issues.Also present at the press conference were former Chinese political prisoners Wei Jingsheng,Harry Wu,and Rebiya Kadeer; Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China, as well as other Chinese human rights activists. Congressman Christopher Smith (NJ-4th), GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence (IN-6th),Congressmen Frank Wolf (VA-10th) and Joe Pitts (PA-16th), leading human rights advocates in Congress, hosted the press conference.
The following are Bob Fu’s prepared remarks for the press conference:
Thank you, Congressmen Chris Smith, Joe Pitts, Frank Wolf, and Mike Pence, for your leadership in hosting this discussion, and thank you, my co-panelists, for your insights and continued sacrifices for freedom in China.Sometimes challenging circumstances can force us to search for resources we may have not yet noticed.It is clear that the U.S. and China share some challenging circumstances right now.Among other issues, we share security crises, economic crises, and environmental crises.Yet it is distressing that during her visit to China, Secretary Clinton seemed to discount a primary “resource” for stability and overcoming crises: China’s own people-not just the ruling elite but the minorities, the house church Christians, the human rights defense lawyers, others.Perhaps sometimes they seem like “small potatoes”; yet, the small potatoes are often the best seed for the next crop.We want to look beyond the immediate to the future-the next generation: who in China is building a strong foundation of justice, rule of law of Nature and of Nature’s God, and “inalienable rights”?How can we support these rebuilders; these people of vision, hope, and change?The State Department’s Human Rights Report was released yesterday.It reported human rights conditions in China deteriorated in 2008.ChinaAid’s 2008 annual persecution report (available at ChinaAid.org) also reports increased persecution for house church Christians.The hand of the Chinese government seems open to U.S. T-bills, while showing a fist to its own people.We do not need to be afraid to press human rights issues: if the Chinese government’s fist is closed to input now, we can go directly to the people within China; people whose hands are open to receive help, advice, encouragement, and support.In fact, they are the best investment for promoting China as friend and partner in years to come.I think it seems wiser than empowering a brutal regime.A nominee for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize has been missing for three weeks now after being kidnapped from his home-human rights defense lawyer Gao Zhisheng.Perhaps some of his words did not sit well with the Communist Party, but if they did have a legitimate right in their path of torturous treatment,they would have no fear of this man,or of his colleague Guo Feixiong who is serving 5-year sentence because he promoted rule of law.In justice is strength.Do not think history will look only at the response of the Secretary of State, or this Administration, or Congress, to place responsibility for the U.S. condoning tolerance of China’s human rights abuses: it is the responsibility of the people of the United States.I call upon my fellow citizens in the U.S, to support life and justice in China with your vote, your checkbook, your phone call to your government representatives and within your sphere of influence.I ask this on behalf of my brothers and sisters in China-many of whom risk life and freedom simply to meet together. Many who have lost freedom, are now imprisoned, and look for our help.Alimujiang Yimiti is a minority of a minority; he is a Christian Uyghur.Though he could be well-positioned to facilitate understanding between two distinct cultures, instead he has been in prison for more than a year-but he has not yet been convicted of any crime.Wusiman Yiming and Lou Yuanqi-both are also imprisoned, and so is businessman Shi Weihan.We learned the basic reason these four men are imprisoned is because they are Christians and engaged in Christian activities. This is not good investment of the Chinese justice system, or promotion of a harmonious civil society.While Secretary Clinton was visiting in China, Christians were sitting in their cold prison cells and working in labor camps around the clock. What message were they expecting her to deliver from the leader of the free world?At the very least, they expected her to say, “Brothers and sisters, we are with you while you are suffering.”The Secretary is quoted as saying that the U.S. and China “will rise and fall together.” This is an interesting thought. Will we fall with a deceptive regime who continues to terrorize innocent citizens, while we try to find temporary cooperation on this or that issue? Or will we rise with a nation with whom we promote human rights as part of holistic dialogue?

Thank you.

Bob Fu

ChinaAid

http://chinaaid.org/2009/02/26/bob-fu-speaks-at-press-conference-today-regarding-secretary-of-state-clinton%e2%80%99s-controversial-remarks-on-human-rights-in-china/

As in the days of Noah...

Radio Free Asia Reports on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Visit to China; Many Christians and Pro-Democracy Activists Placed under Surveillance

BEIJING-Radio Free Asia (RFA) released the following report on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to China, indicating that, during her visit, many Christians and Pro-Democracy Activists were placed under surveillance and are still being held by authorities.RFA reported that Secretary Clinton met with 20 representatives of women’s’ groups and congratulated a woman who had worked on behalf of AIDS victims for her work and for exposing the government. However, in a press conference in South Korea, prior to her visit to China, she indicated that human rights would not be the focus of her visit, rather she would emphasize the economy and trade.A Chinese news source http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/200902/20090225003240.html

which had a separate interview with the AIDs activist Dr. Gao Yaojie reported that she said among the women invited to the embassy to meet with Secretary Clinton, she found that “many were organized by the Chinese government,” although she said she did not believe Secretary Clinton knew that was the case.“While we commend the Secretary’s willingness to meet with a few women leaders including AIDs activist Dr. Gao Yaojie in the US Embassy in Beijing, it’s rather inconsistent and even contradictory to her previous remarks that human rights issues will be a ‘non-interference’ factor to other so-called crisis issues-the economy, environment and security,” said Bob Fu.“It’s even more disheartening to hear from the Secretary of the leader of the free world that somehow universal human rights or human lives are irrelevant or have nothing to do with the ‘three big items.’ On the contrary, a country disrespecting and disregarding its own citizens’ basic rights will make the U.S. and the world less safe, less prosperous and more polluted.”
The following is the Radio Free Asia report originally issued in Chinese:
During Secretary of State Hillary’s China Visit, Many Christians and Pro-democracy Activists are Placed Under Surveillance of the Authorities.

February 23, 2009
During U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to China, many Christians and pro-democracy activists were stalked by people sent by the authorities.They lodged a strong protest against it and indicated that these actions by authorities are violations of people’s freedom of movement endowed by the Constitution.This is a report from Xinyu, special reporter from Radio Free Asia stationed in Hong Kong.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton completed her visit to China and left Beijing on Sunday. Before she departed, she went to a Sunday service in a Christian church in Haidian district of Beijing,(picture left)a church controlled by the government.A large police force stood ready at the site.On Sunday, this station reported that more than 20 petitioners held banners on Xiushui Street near the U.S. Embassy and shouted slogans of welcoming Hillary.They also tried to distribute some flyers and got into a conflict with the police.Yu Jie, a Christian author from Beijing, told a reporter from this station on Monday that the petitioners were able to go near the church while many Christians and pro-democracy activists had been placed under strict surveillance and were told not to go out at will before Hillary arrived in Beijing.“I’m very angry that many Christians and human rights activists were placed under surveillance and were harassed to various extents just because Hillary went to a Sunday service in a government-sanctioned church. I was one of the victims. In the three days before this, these plain-clothed agents from Beijing Domestic Security Protection Squad not only stayed downstairs from my house, they also came to talk to me and required me to report to them if I wanted to go out in the next few days.”Yu Jie does not agree with Hillary’s attendance of a Sunday service at a government-sanctioned Three-Self Protection Movement (TSPM) church. He said: “From our point of view, the Haidian church is a place controlled by the government. Just like eight democratic political parties controlled by the Communist Party, it is a decoration, a vase and such an establishment does not meet the principles in the Bible which regard Jesus as the supreme being for worship. Yet, the supreme being for worship in the TSPM system is the Communist Party.”Another person is Qi Zhiyong, a Christian disabled during the June 4 Incident [Tiananmen Square student protest in 1989]. He was taken to a suburb of Beijing by the police where he was held for three days. He said:“This is totally absurd.They have been doing this all these years.When Secretary of State Rice came here last time, they also took me away.Whenever a U.S. president or a high-ranking official comes to Beijing, the authorities always get nervous and do not want me to be in Beijing.”Besides Christians whose movements were restricted, many pro-democracy activists were also placed under surveillance or in the custody of the people sent by the authorities before Hillary’s visit to China. Zha Jianguo, one of the founding members of China Democracy Party, told the reporter:“I think the authorities sent people over to stand guard at our place during Hillary’s visit because they were afraid the foreign reporters might interview us. They were also afraid that we might stage a protest or demand that we see Hillary. However, we think what they are afraid of is actually the rights the Chinese citizens deserve to have. They used the police force to restrict the citizens’ rights, which itself is a violation of the citizens’ rights. It also shows the government is weak.”Jiang Qisheng, deputy director of the independent Chinese Pen Center, Zhang Zuhua, a Constitutional scholar of Beijing, and Gao Hongming, member of the China Democracy Party, and others were also under surveillance during Hillary’s visit to China.Before Hillary left Beijing, she met 22 representatives from women related organizations, including Gao Yaojie, a retired doctor from Henan who is concerned about AIDS.Hillary praised Gao Yaojie for her bravery in expressing her opinions and exposing the authorities.

http://chinaaid.org/2009/02/26/radio-free-asia-reports-on-secretary-of-state-hillary-clinton%e2%80%99s-visit-to-china-many-christians-and-pro-democracy-activists-placed-under-surveillance/

As in the days of Noah...

The U.S. and China's Human Rights Record

CWN.org-This week, the U.S. State Department released a report criticizing China's human rights record.Still, some are skeptical of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans for relations with the country.Eight years ago, China promised to improve it's human rights record if Beijing was selected as the host city for the 2008 Olympics. But Karen Stewart, acting U.S. acting assistant secretary of state, says the country hasn't fulfilled that promise."China's human rights record remained poor in 2008 and it worsened in some areas," she said.Among the concerns are torture and extra-judicial killings. Also an issue are limits on free speech and the ability to freely assemble in places like unregistered Christian house churches. Congressmen and Chinese activists agree with the conclusions of the state department human rights report, but still critical of Secretary Clinton.During her recent visit to China she said human rights would take a back seat to issues like global warming and the world financial crisis."That statement of the secretary of state is an outrage," said Rep. Mike Pence. "We are grateful for their engagement of commerce in our country, but there can be no more important issue than the dignity of man."China Aid president Bob Fu says the U.S. must be an advocate for minorities and house church Christians-China's greatest resource for stability and overcoming crises."Perhaps sometimes they seem like small potatoes, yet the small potatoes are often the best seed for the next crop,"he said. The next generation of Chinese who need encouragement see America as their only hope. "When the United States does not aggressively pressure China and defend the rights of all who suffer under Chinese rule," Alim Seytof of the Uyghur Human Rights Project explained, "then the people have no defender left in the world."
By Gary Lane
CBN News Sr. Reporter

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/549428.aspx

As in the days of Noah...