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7/23/10 Pakistan (Dawn.com) President Orders Probe into Murder of Christians

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday asked the authorities in Punjab to investigate the murder of two Christian brothers in Faisalabad. Taking note of media reports about the murder of two brothers outside a court in Faisalabad on Monday, the president called for immediate steps to arrest the culprits.

Mr. Zardari condemned the incident and said it had brought a bad name to the country. He said that life of every person was sacred and no-one could be allowed to take law into his own hands. He expressed sympathies with the families of Pastor Rashid Emmanuel and Sajjad Emmanuel and asked the provincial government to pay suitable compensation.

The brothers, accused of having distributed blasphemous material, were gunned down on the premises of a sessions court in Faisalabad on Monday. Police had produced Rashid and his brother in the court to obtain their remand. The brothers were about to leave the place when they were gunned down. The killing sparked violence in the slain brothers’ native area of Daoodnagar where 10 people were injured.

MNA Farahnaz, in her adjournment motion, a copy of which was made available to Dawn, termed the murder of two Christian brothers a “horrific incident” and stated that international polls had shown “a trend of increasing violence and brutality” towards minority communities in Pakistan. “This is very disturbing and needs to be urgently addressed on the floor of the house,” the motion says. Full Story

Praise that President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the horrific murders of two Christian brothers and that he has called for immediate steps to arrest the culprits.

Pray that the family of the two murdered brothers will be comforted and strengthened by the Lord and that they will not become embittered.

Pray that the Pakistani Christians will continue to spread the Gospel in bravery and prudence and that all Pakistanis will accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Pray that the international community will continue to expose the persecution of Pakistani Christians.

7/23/10 Nigeria (ChristianToday) CSW Calls for Urgent Security Review after Fatal Attack on Christians in Nigeria

The head of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Rev Nuhu Dawat, of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, have called upon the Nigerian authorities to urgently review security arrangements for the volatile Plateau State after another deadly attack on Christians last Friday.

Ten people, including children, are believed to have been killed in the attack on Mazah village by Fulani Muslims in the early hours of Friday morning. The attackers frightened villagers out of their homes by firing gun shots before hacking them down with machetes as they attempted to flee. They also burned homes and churches to the ground. CSW said the attackers focused on important residents in the village. The Rev Nuhu Dawat managed to escape with one of his children, but his wife and two other children were killed.

“Once again, unarmed and peaceful villagers have been attacked and murdered in their beds, and once again there are indications that the security forces have not taken effective action, despite being in a position to do so,” Rev Dawat said.

Hundreds of Christians have died in recent sectarian clashes in Plateau State. CEO Andy Dipper, of Release International, said: “We’re appalled to hear of yet more violence against Christians, who have been warning for some time now that they feared further attacks. We appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration to take firm action now to ensure that the military and police carry out their full responsibilities and protect Christians properly. We acknowledge it is a huge task but enough is enough." Full Story

Pray that Rev Nuhu Dawat and his remaining child and all the others who have lost loved ones by the despicable murders by Fulani Muslims will turn to the Lord for He can heal the pain of their losses.

Pray that President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration will take firm action to ensure that the military and police will carry out their full responsibilities and protect the Christians.

Pray that the authorities will promptly arrest and prosecute the Muslim extremists.

7/22/10 China (ChinaAid) Family of Imprisoned Uyghur Christian Denied Visiting Rights

Since Uyghur Christian prisoner Alimjan Yimit (Alimujiang Yimiti) was moved in April to No. 3 Prison on the outskirts of Urumqi to begin serving a 15-year sentence, it was expected that the normal rules regarding monthly supervised family visits would allow his mother and his wife Gulinuer and children to see him again. After being held for over two years in a detention center in Kashgar and denied all contact with family, the possibility of seeing Alimjan was their sole consolation in light of this extremely harsh and unjust sentence.

After the first visit in April, reported on by China Aid, Alimjan was allowed only one other twenty minute interaction with them in May. Alim's lawyers have never been allowed to meet with him since being moved into prison. Each week Gulinuer mails a letter to her husband only two of which she knows he's been given. She has yet to receive a reply.

Thank you for upholding Alimjan's family in your prayers. Gulinuer is also very grateful for some of you who have taken the time to e-mail her your words of encouragement and sympathy and sign the online petition at www.FreeAlim.com. These acts serve as tangible evidence of your faithfulness to firmly stand with Alim and his family and the Uyghur church in China through this trial. Full Story

Pray that God will continue to sustain Alim in prison.

Pray that God will give relief to the frustration and powerlessness Alim’s family feels and that there be a change in the hearts of the officials so as to allow his family to visit Alim in prison.

Pray that this injustice will be triumphed over and that Alim will be released.

Pray that God will be glorified through this difficulty and that the Uyghur believers will be strengthened and multiplied no matter what the outcome.

7/22/10 Indonesia (AsiaNews) Insults and Threats from Islamic Extremists at Prayer Meeting

A group of 500 Islamic extremists blocked Christians from the Huria Protestant Church (Hkbp) in a field where the Sunday service was taking place. The incident occurred on July 18th in the city of Pondok Timur in Mustika Jaya sub-district, district of Bekasi (West Java). Muslims blocked all the routes to prevent Christians from leaving the field. They began to insult them, terrorizing them. The group of Protestant believers prays outdoors because their hall for religious functions was closed on the grounds that it was illegal.

The situation improved when a representative of the Bekasi Office for Religious Affairs, along with 200 policemen, arrived at the site. Luspida Simanjutak, head pastor at the Hkbp church, told AsiaNews: "We were forced to sign a pact with them, forcing us to stop our faith celebration but we strongly rejected the proposal. We asked the representative to help our congregation to leave the site without harm. Their goal is one and one alone, to eradicate all churches from Mustika Jaya”.

It is not the first time that the Hkbp church was targeted by Islamic extremists. "At Pondok Timur - continued the pastor - the Muslims have forced local government to outlaw the place where we held our services. They've already done so twice”.

For years the Christians of Bekasi have been targeted by Islamic fundamentalists. Early in 2010, radical groups blocked religious services, prevented Christians from access to existing churches and stopped the construction of new churches. Full Story

Pray that the Lord will place a hedge of protection around all Indonesian Christians and that the authorities will protect them from attacks by the Islamic extremists.

Pray that the Indonesian Christians will continue in worship and that they proclaim the Good News of salvation with courage and discernment.

Pray that those of the Islamic faith will realize the deception within their faith and they will receive the Good News of Salvation which is only through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

Pray that the international community will continue to expose the persecution of the Indonesian Christians.

7/19/10 Uzbekistan (MNN) Crackdown on Christians worsens in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is cracking down harder on Christians than ever before. The Uzbek government fears that Christians will cause social unrest. Several unjust rulings have been made against Christians since the start of 2010. The homes of numerous Christians as well as churches have been raided, and many Christians have been fined for sharing their faith, holding religious services, and illegally distributing Christian literature. Within the last three months, however, pressure has increased to the point of unlawful imprisonment for their Christian activities.

It has also been indicated that the government may be concerned that Christianity will lead to terrorism. "Christianity, as a minority religion in these places, is seen as a disruptive influence. And some may associate disruption with the concepts of terrorism as that region may define them," explains Carl Moeller, President of Open Doors USA.

Beyond putting the integrity and well-being of believers on the line, the Uzbek government has also caused uninterrupted evangelism to be difficult. "This has a chilling effect on the capacity of individuals to share their faith, to open Bible studies up to neighbors, and to allow people to come to their churches with honest questions," confirms Moeller.

Despite the present danger, evangelical Christians are still reaching out and living the Gospel. Uzbek Christians ask for your prayers as they travel this difficult road. Pray for boldness, for safety, and for relief from such heavy persecution. Pray that this crackdown would strengthen the church and not weaken it.

You can also be an advocate for Uzbek Christians by contacting your local representatives about the issue and urging them to respond to the injustice. Full Story

Pray that the Lord will fortify the Uzbekistani Christians during the persecution by the Uzbekistani government.

Pray that the believers will be bold and wise in sharing the Gospel.

Pray that Christians will contact their U.S. representatives to urge them to take definitive action against the injustices.

7/16/10 India (ANS) Missionaries Facing Severe Opposition in Three Villages

Several Christians—including three Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries—are in danger after opposition to the Gospel reared up in their villages. The first situation occurred when Beena Dhonai, a believer who attends a church led by GFA-supported missionary Abhi Dhat, shared her faith with some other women from her village. The women told Beena, her family and her pastor, Abhi, to stop telling people about Jesus or face serious consequences.

In another village in the same state, Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Somu Murali’s life is in danger. Somu, who is pastor of a small church with an average attendance of 25, is the target of a political group that opposes Christians. Somu asks for prayer for grace, wisdom and boldness to face the situation courageously. He also asks for prayer that all the believers in the church will remain strong in their faith and that God would protect the Bridge of Hope center and the students from any harm. Finally, he asks for prayer that the men seeking to harm him would turn to Christ.

A Women’s Bible Team in another state also needs your prayers. This team is comprised of five women who are students at a local Bible college. They were on their way to distribute tracts and Bibles in a village when some youth, known for their anti-Christian views, stole their bags and set the tracts and Bibles on fire. One of the women was physically assaulted during the altercation. The attackers even filed a complaint with the local police accusing these women of forcing people to change their religion.The attackers withdrew their police complaint the next day, yet the local people continued to ruthlessly pursue the missionaries, threatening them and the local GFA-supported pastor, Debesh Azad, with bodily harm unless they leave the village.

Pastor Debesh and the women’s team request prayer for God’s protection to be on all of them, including Debesh’s family. They also seek prayer for the people in the village, that God would speak to their hearts and reveal the truth about the love of Jesus. Full Story

Pray that Beena, Somi, Debesh, and all the believers in the church will remain strong in worship and in sharing their faith.

Pray that God will protect the Bridge of Hope center and the students from any harm.

Pray that God will speak to the hearts and reveal the truth about the love of Jesus to their persecutors and that they will turn to Christ.

7/17/10 Russia (AP) Bishop Killed in Russia's Dagestan

Officials in Russia's largely Muslim republic of Dagestan say that a Christian bishop has been shot to death by unknown attackers. A spokesman for the republic's police, Vyacheslav Gasanov, said the victim of the Thursday evening shooting in Makhachkala, the capital, was Artur Suleimanov, the bishop in Dagestan for the Russian evangelical denomination Osanna.

Dagestan, which is about 90 percent Muslim, is plagued by insurgent violence, with many of the militants inspired by or affiliated with Islamic separatists in neighboring Chechnya.

Also Friday, Gasanov said two militants were killed by police in a clash in the town of Khasavyurt the previous day. Full Story

Pray that the authorities will promptly arrest and prosecute those that brutally murdered Artur Suleimanov.

Pray that the authorities will protect the Dagestan Christians from the attacks by radical Muslims.

Pray that the Dagestan Christians will continue to spread the Gospel in bravery and prudence and that the Russians that are spiritually lost will accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of their souls.

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