Persecution Unveiled Cause

Persecution Unveiled Cause
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Persecution Unveiled has established this cause to educate people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide. Mission Raising awareness to the growing tide of bigotry and hatred toward Christians around the world has become a burden on those trying to wake up those who cherish religious freedom as a God given right. Persecution Unveiled has been called by God to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to speak up and act on behalf of those who have no voice. Email
persecutionunveiled@gmail.com

Friday, December 28, 2018

Indonesia: 90,000 Soldiers to Guard Christians in 50,000 Churches for Christmas Services

Police stand near the scene of an explosion outside a church in Samarinda,
East Kalimantan, Indonesia on November 13, 2016.
(Photo: Antara Foto/Amirulloh/via REUTERS)
By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

As many as 90,000 soldiers will be guarding more than 50,000 churches across Indonesia in an effort to thwart terror attacks during Christmas.

Francis Xavier Ping Tedja, security coordinator at Santa Maria Church, told UCA News earlier this week that 70 police officers and members of Banser — the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest moderate Muslim group in the country, will guard the church for Christmas services.

"We have coordinated with police, military, and Islamic groups to maintain the security, so that Catholics can attend Christmas masses comfortably and safely," Tedja said.
“We hope Catholics will not be afraid to attend Christmas masses at the church,” he added.
The church in Surabaya, East Java, was attacked by suicide bombers in May. The terrorists, linked with the Islamic State terror group, targeted three churches in the world's most populous Islamic nation, killing 18 people.

Father Antonius Suyadi, chairman of the Jakarta Archdiocese’s Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Commission, added that the Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral Church in Jakarta will be secured by 300 police and military personnel.

“Besides the cathedral church, police and military forces will also guard other Catholic churches in the archdiocese,” Suyadi explained.
As police combat terrorist threats, the nation's leaders continue to work on reconciliation efforts that include terror attack survivors meeting face-to-face with people who've carried out bombings.

A three-day first-of-its-kind event was staged in March in Jakarta, where 124 convicted terrorists met 51 survivors of attacks and their family members.

One former Islamic radical who killed three people in 2002 spoke of his regret for what he did.

"I have repented and I will help the government educate others not to follow a radical path as I did," Mokhtar Daeng Lau said at the time.
Another man by the name of Sumarno, who took part in 2002 Bali bombings where Islamic radicals killed over 200 people, added: "I deeply regret what I have done. I did not expect that so many victims were our brothers and sisters."
"It's hard and saddens me to see survivors who are now suffering from permanent disabilities," the man added.
"I had not imagined the impact would be like that. I am sorry and have apologized to them."
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Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.


UK Official: Political Correctness Getting in Way as Christianity 'On Verge of Extinction from Birthplace'

All religious minorities must be protected and the evidence demonstrates that in some countries, Christians face the greatest risk.
Iraqi Christians pray during a mass on Christmas Eve at Church of Saint
George
in Teleskof, Iraq, December 24, 2017 (Photo: Reuters/Ari Jalal)
By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Political correctness should not get in the way of action aimed at helping Christians on the verge of extinction in the Middle East, the U.K. Foreign Secretary has warned.
“Yesterday my family and I walked a short journey to our local church, and enjoyed an uplifting Christmas service. We attend as a simple matter of personal choice, but since being appointed Foreign Secretary, it has struck me how much we take that choice for granted: others around the world are facing death, torture and imprisonment for that very right,” Jeremy Hunt wrote in an op-ed published in The Telegraph and the U.K. government website on Wednesday, which was Boxing Day in the U.K.
Hunt pointed out that 100 years ago, close to 20 percent of the people in the Middle East were Christian, but various terror campaigns have pushed that number to below five percent today.

The U.K. politician mentioned a number of cases where Christians have faced severe persecution and even death for their faith in Jesus Christ, from instances in Egypt to Iraq and Pakistan.

The Islamic State terror group, in particular, has forced multitudes of believers to flee the region in the past several years, with many unlikely to return.

Hunt praised the U.K. government for long championing international religious freedom, but at the same time warned that it can do more to help Christians, particularly in the Middle East.

“I am not convinced that our response to the threats facing this particular group has always matched the scale of the problem, nor taken account of the hard evidence that Christians often endure a disproportionate burden of persecution. Perhaps this is borne out of the very British sense of awkwardness at ‘doing God’. Perhaps it’s an awareness of our colonial history, or because Britain is a traditionally Christian country some are fearful of being seen to help Christians in desperate need,” he suggested.
“Whatever the cause, we must never allow a misguided political correctness to inhibit our response to the persecution of any religious community.”
Hunt revealed that he has appointed the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, to lead a global review of the persecution of Christians, and examine in which areas the government can do more to help.
“With Christianity on the verge of extinction in its birthplace, it is time for concerted action that begins to turn the tide,” he said.
“It is not in our national character to turn a blind eye to suffering. All religious minorities must be protected and the evidence demonstrates that in some countries, Christians face the greatest risk.”
Major U.K. leaders, from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to Prince Charles, have long warned about the plight of Middle East Christians.

Earlier in December, the Prince of Wales spoke at a special service at Westminster Abbey, where he praised the "truly remarkable faith” of Christians in the Middle East.

“Time and again I have been deeply humbled and profoundly moved by the extraordinary grace and capacity for forgiveness that I have seen in those who have suffered so much,” Prince Charles said at the time, referring to number of Christians from the region he has met and spoke with.
He said that their commitment to their faith no matter the terrors they face demonstrates the “extraordinary power of faith to resist even the most brutal efforts to extinguish it.”


Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.


Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Persecuted Church in China Vows to Continue Gathering, Meet Christmas Day Despite Arrest of 100 Members

Despite persecution, the Christian population has grown steadily in recent years. There are now an estimated 100 million Christians in China, many of them worshiping in so-called underground churches.


By Leah Marieann Klett
Gospel Herald


Early Rain Covenant Church -- China's largest underground church -- has vowed to meet Christmas Day despite a recent crackdown which saw the arrest of 100 church members, including Pastor Wang Yi.

A member of Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan who did not want to be identified told the BBC that despite Beijing's stepped-up crackdown on independent religious practice, the church will continue to operate.

"We will continue the gathering. The church is shut down so it's impossible to have a big gathering, but there will be small gatherings on Sunday and on Christmas Day."
The church member added that ultimately, such persecution might even increase the profile of the faith in China.
"Without repression, people may doubt about our religion. But when repression occurs, pastors and members' reactions will make people who don't believe realize the charm of Christianity."Earlier in December, police raided the church and arrested Pastor Wang and his wife Jiang Rong. Over the following two days, at least 100 church members, including Wang's assistant, were also taken away.
The church member told the BBC that the lock on the church school had been broken, churchgoers' homes had been ransacked and some were "under house arrest or are followed all the time."

Both Wang and his wife have since been charged with state subversion, one of the most serious crimes against the state and a charge that carries a potential jail term of 15 years.
After he was detained, the church released Yi's statement explaining and defending his nonviolent resistance to China's "evil" and "wicked" rulers.

"I firmly believe that Christ has called me to carry out this faithful disobedience through a life of service, under this regime that opposes the gospel and persecutes the church," he concluded. "This is the means by which I preach the gospel, and it is the mystery of the gospel which I preach."
Police have accused Early Rain of operating without registering with authorities, as required by the updated Regulations for Religious Affairs. Churches which do not belong to the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement and are illegal under Communist rule.
The Early Rain member who did not want to be identified said the idea of the Three-Self Patriotic churches was "hilarious", saying they "don't spread genuine gospel, but spread the thoughts of loving the Party, loving the country".

Another Christian in Chengdu told the BBC such churches were "against Jesus, against gospel."


Website: Gospel Herald

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.


Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Another 60 Christians Arrested from Chinese Church Where 100 Were Already Detained

Early Rain Covenant Church in China Photo: Facebook/ Early Rain Covenant Church

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Another 60 members of the underground Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, were arrested this past Sunday, in an ongoing crackdown against the Protestant congregation.

Police have reportedly been attempting to force churchgoers to pledge to leave the church.

This time, according to World Magazine, the arrests took place at a park where the congregation had decided to meet, due to the church building being shut down in a previous raid earlier in the month when 100 worshipers were detained.

The church members had been praying and reciting part of their Catechism, reading: 
“What is your only comfort in life and death? That I am not my own but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Several other Christians who met at a separate location in the field of a nearby university were also taken by police.

As ChinaAid noted, the church's pastor, Wang Yi, has been charged with "inciting subversion of state power."

Some of the 100 Christian leaders and students who were arrested earlier in December had to leave their children unattended. A prayer letter released by the church after the arrests claimed that at least three believers who were detained by the Communist Party authorities had been tortured.

Photos of the injuries from the alleged torture have since emerged online, showing bruises and others signs of beatings that the Christians suffered.

One church member, who wished not to be identified, told BBC News that the lock on the church was broken, some of the churchgoers' homes were ransacked, and a number of believers were "under house arrest or are followed all the time."
"On Sunday, some members tried to gather at other places for worship but got taken away as well. The Church building has been manned with police and plain-clothes officers, not allowing anyone to enter to do worship service," the church member added.
She revealed that police have also been pressuring congregants to sign documents asking them to leave the church and take their children out of its Bible school.

Several other underground churches have been shut down this year, with both Catholic and Protestant congregations heavily targeted by the administration of President Xi Jinping. Video footage from this year shows Communist officials severing crosses from church buildings and demolishing churches altogether.

Wang had written a letter in the event that he would be taken by Chinese Communist authorities. It was released last week.

In it, Wang expresses how he is “filled with anger and disgust at the persecution of the church by this Communist regime, at the wickedness of their depriving people of the freedoms of religion and of conscience."

The Early Rain Covenant Church pastor said that following the Bible, he accepts and respects “the fact that this Communist regime has been allowed by God to rule temporarily."
“At the same time, I believe that this Communist regime’s persecution against the church is a greatly wicked, unlawful action. As a pastor of a Christian church, I must denounce this wickedness openly and severely,” he added.
“The calling that I have received requires me to use non-violent methods to disobey those human laws that disobey the Bible and God. My Savior Christ also requires me to joyfully bear all costs for disobeying wicked laws.”

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.


Two Christian Brothers Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan, Charity Warns

A Pakistani soldier keeps guard at the Friendship Gate, crossing point at the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan, March 7, 2017
. | Reuters/Saeed Ali Achakzai/Files

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

Two Christian brothers have reportedly been sentenced to death in Pakistan after one of them was accused of posting content deemed disrespectful of Islam on their website. The United Kingdom-based charity Centre for Legal, Aid, Assistance & Settlement has raised alarm about the sentencing of Qaisar and Amoon Ayub.

The group explained that the death sentences were handed down last Thursday by Judge Javed Iqbal Bosal after a hearing in a Jhelum jail in the Punjab province.

The brothers, who are from the city of Lahore, were arrested in 2014 after the reopening of a police case stemming from a 2011 allegation. Qaisar had previously explained that he closed down the webpage in question in 2009. However, he claims one of his Muslim friends restored the webpage.

The accusation of blasphemy was made after Qaisar got into an argument with his friends at work. Qaisar then began receiving death threats and went into hiding. Both Qaisar and Amon eventually fled to Singapore before returning after one month, according to Asia News.

Although they would return, they would soon flee again to Thailand because the situation was still not safe for them. As the brothers spent years on the run, they were told that police were looking for him. In Pakistan, blasphemy is a crime that is punishable with the death penalty or life in prison.

Qaisar is married with three kids, while Amoon is married to a teacher.

CLAAS plans to appeal Qaiser's death sentence to the Lahore High Court Bench at Rawalpindi, while the American Center for Law & Justice's Pakistan office is handling the appeal for Amoon. CLAAS asserts that in many blasphemy cases, judges are “under threat from religious fanatics” to “convict those accused of blasphemy.”

“This is a very unfortunate situation as because of threats from hardliners lower courts pass their responsibility to the higher court and then it takes years to prove the accused innocent,” CLAAS Director Nasir Saeed said in a statement.
“We have seen this in the recent case of Asia Bibi, who was similarly convicted by the lower court and it took her years to reach to the Supreme Court to get justice. I am afraid now Qasir and Amoon will have to wait years to get justice.”
After spending over eight years on death row, Bibi, a Christian mother of five, was acquited by a three-judge panel of the Pakistan Supreme Court in October. Because of that decision, thousands of radical Muslims protested in cities across the country calling for the death of Bibi and the death of the justices who acquitted her. A deal was eventually struck with a hardline Muslim organization for the Supreme Court to review Bibi’s acquittal before allowing her to flee the country.

International human rights activists have long called on Pakistan to reform its blasphemy laws, which are regularly abused by Muslims to settle personal scores with religious minorities. The Pakistani government is facing continued pressure.

Last week, the U.S. State Department designated Pakistan a “country of particular concern” for religious liberty. The CPC designation applies to countries where the government “has engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

The CPC designation gives the U.S. government the potential to enact sanctions or diplomatic measures to pressure change in Pakistan and the nine other countries on the list.

Over the summer, the U.S. and 14 other nations signed onto a “statement of concern” that condemned blasphemy and apostasy laws throughout the world as often being used “as a pretext to justify vigilantism or mob violence in the name of religion, or as a false pretense to settle personal grievances.”


Thursday, December 13, 2018

Town Ignores Atheists' Warnings, Keeps Christian Cross in Christmas Lights Display

A blue-lit cross stands erect as part of a Christmas light display at Finley
River Park in Ozark, MO December 2018. (Photo: Facebook/Ragan Thompson-Sartin)  

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post


To the delight of many Christians, a town in Christian County, Missouri, has reversed its decision to take down an illuminated cross from its Holiday display.

Many residents voiced their outrage when, under pressure from the Wisconsin-based atheist legal group the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the city of Ozark announced on Tuesday that it would no longer include the giant blue-lit steel cross in its Christmas light display at Finley River Park even though it has been included in the display for years.

The decision was made after Ozark administrator Stephen Childers received a letter on Nov. 30 from FFRF legal director Rebecca Markert arguing that the cross display violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the grounds that it amounts to a government endorsement of a religion.

The town issued an initial statement in response to the FFRF's complaint in which officials agreed that having the cross on public property was a violation of the First Amendment. The town also said that leaving the cross on public property would “result in a lawsuit that we will not win.”

“While we respect the interests of those who have long enjoyed the holiday display in Finley River Park, we must acknowledge the federal Constitution and its interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court,” the statement read. 
This letter has brought a concern to our attention and we cannot ignore the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech, protects freedom of the press, protects the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and prohibits the government from making laws or taking actions that may promote or prohibit one religion over another.”

But later that day, the town updated its statement and assured residents that the cross will continue to be part of the holiday display as the city looks into FFRF’s legal claims.

“We released a press release earlier with the facts as they have been presented to us thus far,” the statement reads. “As the day unfolded and citizens commented on this topic, we have determined that in the best interest of all parties we shall continue working through the legalities of the situation. Therefore, the cross in the Finley River Park will remain in place until a further due diligence can be completed regarding this matter.”
According to the Springfield News-Leader, Mayor Rick Gardner received “hundreds” of phone calls, text messages and other communications from members of the Ozark community following the town’s initial announcement. One person reportedly told Gardner that the cross “is a part of Ozark” and “this is Christian County, for Pete's sake."

Gardner took to Facebook to sound off about FFRF’s demand Tuesday.

“The controversy about the lighted Cross in the park is not over,” Gardner said. “The cross is NOT down and will be [lit] tonight. We have heard your thoughts and agree with them. We are now assessing all our options for addressing this situation. Stay tuned.”
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Missionary Says God Used Year-Long Abduction to Plant Seeds That Helped Bring Captors to Christ

[Gracia] Burnham assured that God took "an angry hostage and put love in her heart."

Martin (L) and Gracia (R) Burnham record a video while being held
hostage by Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the Philippines between
(Screenshot: YouTube/NTMbooks)
By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

VIENNA, Virginia — Over 15 years after she was rescued from a year-long abduction by Islamic terrorists in a Philippine jungle, Kansas missionary Gracia Burnham says her time in captivity showed her how faithless she was as she couldn't see the bigger plan that God had for her time of trial.

Burnham along with her deceased husband, Martin, both served for New Tribes Mission (now Ethnos360) when they were taken hostage by Abu Sayyaf militants on May 27, 2001. The Burnhams were among a group of 20 hostages kidnapped by the terror group from the Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan.

After 376 days of captivity, Burnham was freed in June 2002 following a gun battle with the Filipino military that resulted in the death of her husband.

The 59-year-old author of two books detailed her experience in captivity with hundreds gathered at the Voice of the Martyrs Advance Conference held at McLean Bible Church outside Washington, D.C.

"I want to thank you for your prayers. Thank you for praying for this loving couple you have never even met before. It seemed like our trial lasted forever and that is how a trial is, isn't it?" she asked the crowd. "There were days where we felt like everyone had forgotten us and there were days I felt forsaken."
Gracia Burnham | (Photo: Facebook)
Burnham said the hardest part of her captivity was not the fact that her feet painfully bled and oozed from the long hikes with no socks and was not the fact that she was forced to sleep at night with only a dirty old rice sack separating her from the creatures crawling around on the jungle floor.

"The hardest thing for me was seeing myself for what I really was," she said. "When everything was gone, the real me surfaced that I didn't even want to believe existed. I saw a hateful Gracia. I saw a faithless Gracia. It was shocking."

In a time of desperation and despair, Burnham said she cried out for God to change her and cried out to ask God how long the trial would last.


"I was such a mess that I wasn't even sure God could change me," she explained. "But God can do anything, and He promised to change us. He said He would change us so much that we would start looking like Jesus. Isn't that how we want to live?"

Burnham assured that God took "an angry hostage and put love in her heart."
"God started changing me. He can bring peace to the broken hearted," she said. "He can bring good things out of pain. He keeps giving us a day of grace to serve Him again."
One of the most frustrating parts of the abduction occurred in the days before Easter 2002 when a ransom was paid for their release but Abu Sayyaf leaders decided to hold out for more money.
"I begged them not to do that. I said, 'This is not going to turn out well. We are sick of this, you are sick of this, just take the money and let's go home.' They were greedy and they asked for more money,'" Burnham explained. "You can imagine how defeated we felt that night when we laid down on our rice sacks to get rest."
"Just as I was drifting off to sleep, Martin kind of nudged me and said, 'Gracia, I am so glad that when Jesus paid a ransom for us, it was enough,'" Burnham recalled. "Jesus' payment for us was sufficient. It satisfied God and there doesn't need to be anymore sacrifice for sin."
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Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Trump Sends State Department to Nigeria Amid Massacre of Hundreds of Christians by Islamic Radicals

The [Islamic] radical group has also been executing humanitarian workers it has captured, including two from The International Committee of the Red Cross.

Nigerian citizens in this video uploaded in October 2018.(Screenshot:YouTube/africanews)

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

The U.S. State Department is headed to Nigeria this week amid the massacre of hundreds of Christians at the hands of various Islamic radical factions. Killings had spiked in October.

The State Department says on it website that the visit will be part of a wider focus on promoting stronger trade and commercial ties between the U.S. and several Africa countries, with the final stop in Abuja.

International Christian Concern noted that in April 2018, President Donald Trump's administration signed a deal with the Nigerian government for purchasing 12 fighter jets, intended to be used to fight militants and bring an end to the killings of Christians and other civilians.

With the terrorist actions of Boko Haram, and separately other Islamic radicals who are presenting themselves as Fulani herdsmen, continuing in full force, however, ICC said that the Trump administration has "big decisions" to make concerning its strategy with Nigeria.

"Many are hoping that this week the Trump administration would stand up in support of religious freedoms in Nigeria," the watchdog group said.
Emeka Umeagbalasi, board chair of the Int'l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, shared with The Christian Post that October was one of the deadliest months this year, with Islamic extremists killing 260 Christians and 100 Muslims.
"The senseless killings mostly took place in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria particularly in the States of Kaduna (Southern part), Plateau, Adamawa, Benue and Borno (Northeast) and were perpetrated by state actor and non-state actor Jihadists. The killings, perpetrated in the name of 'Islam,' are done with reckless abandon despite heavy presence and deployment of soldiers in all the 36 States of Nigeria and the Abuja," the monitoring group said in its October report.
"The continuation and escalation of the killings mostly targeted at members of the Nigerian Christian Faith are also politically motivated whereby those perpetrating same and their backers in the corridors of power who brazenly aid and abet them are hailed among largely illiterate Muslim population in the North as the 'true defenders of Allah and Islamic Faith;' capable of robotically galloping their electoral popularity among the illiterate Muslim population in the north ahead of the country's presidential poll in February 2019."
Umeagbalasi previously told CP that the Nigerian government is greatly failing to stop what many are calling a genocide against Christians. Thousands of believers have been killed in 2018, with their homes and villages burned down, while churches have been converted into mosques.

Most of the violence has been carried out by what Umeagbalasi says are Islamic extremists masquerading as Fulani herdsmen, in an effort to fool the international community into believing the clashes are only between herdsmen and farmers over cattle grazing land.


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Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.



Asia Bibi: Police Warn Christians that Terrorists are Set to Attack; Churches in 'Critical Moment'

U.S. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told CNN last week that he has spoken to President Donald Trump about granting Bibi asylum...

Islamic protesters against Asia Bibi's freedom take the streets in Pakistan 
on November 1, 2018. | (Screenshot: YouTube/TRT World)

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Pakistani police have warned the leaders of Christian groups that terrorists are planning attacks against believers over the fallout of the Asia Bibi case.

The Lahore Police Inspectorate has urged Christian institutions to "pay attention to vigilance,” outlining that terror groups such as "Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan" and "Jamaat-ul-Ahrar" have made plans for attacks, Agenzia Fides reported.

The police vowed that security measures have been put in place at Christian places and churches, but danger remains high as Islamic extremists seek to punish believers for their support of Bibi.

The Christian mother of five was acquitted of blasphemy in October after spending eight years on death row for insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, something which she has continuously denied.

Persecution watchdog groups and her supporters celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn her conviction and sentence, but Bibi and her family are believed to still be in Pakistan, hiding in fear for their lives.

In the weeks following her acquittal, Christians have been attacked as hardliners took to the streets to protest. Peter Jacob, the executive director for the Center for Social Justice in Lahore, said earlier in November that Christians were "taken out of their cars and beaten up," among other forms of violence.

Bishop Humphrey Peters, an Anglican pastor at the head of the "Church of Pakistan" in Peshawar, responded to the latest police letter by admitting that Christians are in a “critical moment.”

“Christians in Pakistani have trust in the security forces. We will continue to carry out our role in society, in full cooperation with law enforcement and government,” Peters told Fides.
Catholic layman Adeel Patras Chaudhry of "Jesus Life TV" commented,
"Christians will pay close attention and act with caution in the organization of gatherings and celebrations at Christmas time. We pray for the protection of the faithful and also of the security forces, committed to our protection. We are aware of the delicate situation and collaborate with the police and with the Government.”
Fr. Qaisar Feroz, executive secretary of the Commission for Social Communications in the Catholic Episcopal Conference, insisted that despite the violent fallout, the judicial system did the right thing in freeing Bibi.
"The decision of the Supreme Court has restored justice and truth to this case, in which an innocent was in jail. We hope that the woman can lead a happy life. All citizens must see, in all this, the good for Pakistan: a nation where legality and law are still respected. This is our idea of Pakistan,” Feroz argued.
Several Western governments, including Canada and Italy, have said that they are reaching out to help Bibi and her family, but they are still awaiting asylum.

U.S. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told CNN last week that he has spoken to President Donald Trump about granting Bibi asylum, noting that there are fears she might be killed or imprisoned again if she remains there. 


Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Friday, November 16, 2018

VICTORY: Fire Chief Sacked by City After Defending Biblical Marriage Wins $1.2 Million in Lawsuit

“The government can’t force its employees to get its permission before they engage in free speech."


By Doug Mainwaring
Life Site News


A former “Fire Chief of the Year” who lost his job after publishing a book about Christianity in which he upheld Biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality — perceived by some to be "anti-gay" — has won a $1.2 million settlement from the city of Atlanta, his former employer.

“Great day for the Chief,” trumpeted a tweet from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). “1.2 mill settlement after yrs of unnecessary legal battle for his right to live out faith and #speech in city of Atlanta.”





Great day for the Chief. 1.2 mill settlement after yrs of unnecessary legal battle for his right to live out faith and in city of Atlanta
@AllianceDefendshttp://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/9520 
While this is a welcome win for Kelvin Cochran and the cause of religious liberty, it is not a decisive vindication.

The city attorney conducted an extensive review of the case “and concluded that the cost of continuing to defend against the lawsuit would far exceed the cost to settle,” according to a Daily Journal report. And while Atlanta’s city council voted 11-3 in favor of the settlement, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has yet to sign off on the settlement.

“The government can’t force its employees to get its permission before they engage in free speech. It also can’t fire them for exercising that First Amendment freedom, causing them to lose both their freedom and their livelihoods,” said Kevin Theriot, the ADF attorney who represented Cochran.
“We are very pleased that the city is compensating Chief Cochran as it should, and we hope this will serve as a deterrent to any government that would trample upon the constitutionally protected freedoms of its public servants,” added Theriot.

The Fire Chief had sued the city and mayor for firing him three years ago after he wrote and self-published a book on his own time that defended male/female marriage while describing homosexual behavior as one of the perversions listed in the Bible.

In the suit, he claimed that he had been discriminated against for his religious beliefs.

“It’s ironic that the city points to tolerance and inclusion as part of its reasoning,” Cochran said at the time. “What could be more intolerant and exclusionary than ending a public servant’s 30 years of distinguished service for his religious beliefs?”
“I was really surprised that writing a book — a Christian men’s bible study — 162 pages encouraging men to be the husbands and fathers and leaders that God has called us to be would put me in an adverse position against the city of Atlanta because of a few pages I wrote explaining biblical marriage and biblical sexuality,” said Cochran in an ADF video about the case. 

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.


'With Our Souls, Our Blood, We Will Defend the Cross': Coptic Christians Cry Out at Funerals

"We would like to tell them (the attackers) that we still love them despite what happened."


Coptic Christians mourn the death of seven believers during
a funeral in Egypt on November 3, 2018.

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post


The Coptic Christian community in Egypt is crying out in grief and anger following the funerals of seven believers who were killed by Islamic militants near a monastery in Minya.

The attack on Friday, which left at least another 19 people injured, prompted a swift response from Egyptian police, who say that they killed 19 militants in a shoot-out into the desert area west of Minya province.

AFP reported that the first victim, an Anglican, was buried on Friday, while the other six Coptic Christians were carried out in white coffins on Saturday by hundreds of mourners. The crowds reportedly shouted "with our souls, with our blood, we will defend the cross!"

Bishop Makarios of Minya said following the funerals that "we will not forget the promises of officials, including the president of the republic, that the criminals will be punished."

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for Friday's massacre, which comes a year after 28 believers were killed travelling to the same monastery in May 2017.

Egypt's interior ministry said that police pursued the militants and discovered a tent where they had been hiding. Officers found guns, riffles, and IS propaganda.

Copts, who make up only around 10 percent of the local population, have called for better protection as radical Islamic danger remains high in Egypt.

"What do these terrorists want? Do they want us to hate Muslims?" asked one mourner, identified only as Michael, who lost a neighbor on Friday, when the militants attacked two buses near the Minya monastery.

During Saturday's funerals, mourners remembered those they lost.

"He was the best child ... I'll never see him again," said an elderly woman, who wasn't named.
Rad Noseer Mitri, priest of Mar Girgis Church, suggested that forgiveness is possible even in such a situation.
"We would like to tell them (the attackers) that we still love them despite what happened. We have a question though — why are you doing this to us? We do not commit malice towards anyone," Mitri said, according to Reuters.
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‘We Should Let Her Come to Our Country’: Senator Rand Paul Pleads With President Trump to Help Asia Bibi

If no-one steps up to the plate and welcomes Bibi into their nation as a refugee, Paul said he is “worried she’ll be killed.”

By Will Maule
Faith Wire


Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has appealed for help from President Trump on behalf of stricken Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi. Last month, the 53-year-old mother was acquitted on charges of blasphemy but remains in grave danger as Islamic radicals protest the landmark Supreme Court ruling and demand her execution. Taking to Twitter, Sen. Paul said that he had “spoke with ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ about offering asylum to Asia Bibi.”

“Pakistan must ensure her safety until she is able to depart in the near future,” he added. “This Christian woman has been persecuted enough!”



Just spoke to @RichardGrenell about helping Asia Bibi in Pakistan. We are committed to working together to give her asylum in the United States. Thank you Ric for all you’re doing to assist her! Let’s make it happen.

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Bibi is currently being held under armed guard at an undisclosed location in Islamabad after being released from prison in Punjab province. However, as part of a deal negotiated between the Pakistani government and leading Islamic clerics from the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, the acquitted woman’s Supreme Court ruling is now being reviewed

So, Bibi’s situation remains highly unstable. Indeed, as the government seeks to put the mother on its Exit Control List (ECL) and prevent her from leaving the country, a petition has been lodged by the blood-thirsty religious fundamentalists in a bid to identify “errors” in the Supreme Court ruling – an appeal that the government has agreed not to obstruct. Should the review conclude that the Supreme Court was erroneous in its ruling, Bibi could find herself thrown back into prison, and may be swiftly placed on death row once again.


This is something that Sen. Paul picked up on in an interview with CNN. Paul noted that “they will probably convict her again” if the ruling is overturned. “And if she goes through all of that — she has already spent eight years in prison on death row, which has to be a horrific experience — I’m worried that she won’t survive.”


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