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

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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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.

‘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.

8,973 people are talking about this

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.”


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 9, 2018

Thousands of Fulani Muslims Coming to Christ, but Islamist Infiltration Causing Massacres

"Thousands of Fulani are following Jesus Christ.


By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post


A missions group has backed reports that while the Islamic militant infiltration of the Fulani in Nigeria is causing widespread massacres, thousands are also coming to Christ.
"When I say Fulani, I always want to be careful to say Islamists from within the Fulani tribe, because Fulani is a very large tribe. We don't want to paint all of them with the same brush also because thousands of Fulani are becoming followers of Christ. So we want to be very careful to say these are radical, Muslim Islamists from among that tribal group who conducted these attacks," Todd Nettleton of Voice of Martyrs told Mission Network News, while speaking of a recent attack.
The attack in question in the city of Jos occurred on September 27, when 20 villagers were murdered in their homes, along with seven students from the University of Jos.

VOM, which has staff in the area, said that the Fulani were dressed in the uniforms of army soldiers when they raided the village, which raises a number of big questions, such as who is supplying them.
"Nigerians are frustrated that these attacks keep happening, because they think there should be security," Nettleton added.
Thousands of Nigerian Christians have been slaughtered in the past year alone in attacks by Fulani.

While much of the mainstream news has characterized the killings as clashes between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and Christian farmers, other groups, such as the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, have also argued that there has been a jihadist takeover.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman of Intersociety, told The Christian Post in August that radicals who are masquerading as herdsmen are carrying out a jihad aimed at rooting out Christianity, while at the same time trying to present to the international community that the conflict is only about land and cattle grazing.

Umeagbalasi noted that not only are Christians being killed in large numbers by Ak-47s and other weaponry, but that their homes and churches are being burned down, with Christian houses of worship also converted for Islamic purposes.
"How many Muslim farmers are being killed by Fulani herdsmen? How many Muslim homes have been destroyed or burned? The answer is in the negative. It has nothing to do with herdsmen-farmer clashes. It is false," Umeagbalasi told CP at the time.
"We don't like to use the [term] 'Fulani herdsmen', we like to use "Fulani jihadists," who are under the guise of herdsmen."
Nettleton told MNN that despite the losses, Nigerian Christians are finding a way to walk with God and even pray for their attackers.

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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.


'Barbaric': 4 Catholic Priests Ambushed, Kidnapped by Armed Gunmen in Nigeria

The Saint Philips Catholic Church in Ozubulu, Nigeria.
By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post


Nigerian officials are condemning the kidnapping of four Roman Catholic priests by armed gunmen earlier this week.

Benue State Gov. Samuel Ortom called the abduction of the priests in Delta State on Tuesday "barbaric, dehumanizing, and shameful."

PUNCH Metro identified the clergymen as the Rev Fr. Victor Adigboluja of the Ijebu Ode diocese; Anthony Otegbola, Abeokuta Diocese; Joseph Ediae, Benin Archdiocese; and Emmanuel Obadjere, Warri Diocese.

They were reportedly all returning from a class marking their 10th priestly ordination when the gunmen, whose identities are yet to be confirmed, ambushed and kidnapped them, spraying their vehicles with bullets.

Andrew Aniamaka, a spokesperson for Delta State, confirmed the incident with AFP.
"They were abducted on their way to Ekpoma, Edo state, from Delta for an event," Aniamaka said, adding that police are hunting for the suspects.
The incident comes less than three weeks after five Catholic nuns were also kidnapped in the state, but were released two weeks later.

Vatican News noted that church officials are asking the faithful to pray for the clergymen's release.

Ortom meanwhile speculated that the kidnappers could be Fulani attackers under the cover of herdsmen. Fulani radicals have massacred thousands of Christians in what some church officials have described as a genocide of believers.

Benue State suffered a tragedy earlier in 2018 when two priests and 17 worshipers were killed by the Fulani in Mbalom, Gwer East Local Government Area.

The latest kidnapping comes as U.S. State Department officials visit Nigeria this week, in the wake of continued killings of Christians and other civilians by Islamic radicals.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, board chair of the Int'l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, told The Christian Post that October was one of the deadliest months of the year, resulting in the deaths of 260 Christians and 100 Muslim, at the hands of both Fulani and Boko Haram extremists.
"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 an October report on the killings.
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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.


Monday, November 5, 2018

Asia Bibi Blocked From Leaving Pakistan After Government Makes Deal With Protesting Hardliners

Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, Wilson Chowdhry, said it was 'incredulous' that no country had stepped forward to offer Bibi asylum. 

Protesters chant slogans after the acquittal of Asia Bibi.
The banners read, 'Ready to sacrifice our lives for Mohammad.
'

By Staff Writer
Christian Post

A Christian woman whose death penalty for blasphemy was overturned this week still cannot leave Pakistan because of a government deal to appease radical Islamists. Hardliners have been staging widespread protests since Wednesday when the courts acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges going back a decade.

However, Pakistan's government has reportedly reached a deal with the Tehreek-i-Labaik (TLP) party, which orchestrated the protests, that prevents the mother of five from leaving the country for now.

According to the BBC, a court will decide on whether Bibi should be added to the country's no-fly list. If such a travel ban is implemented, it is not certain how long it would be in effect.

Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told the BBC, 'We had two options: either to use force, and when you use force people can be killed. That is not something a state should do... We tried negotiations and (in) negotiations you take something and you leave something.'

He added that the deal was not a permanent solution to the problem of extremists in Pakistan.
'We need to take steps against extremism, we need to take steps against such kind of violent protesters and we need to come up with a permanent solution,' he said.
'Right now this is not a cure. This is firefighting, what we are doing. The cure is the real thing and our government is committed to the cure.'
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, a majority-Muslim country where Christians suffer severe persecution for their faith. Two politicians who had spoken in Bibi's defence - minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer - were both assassinated in 2011.

Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam by her Muslim coworkers when she offered to share a cup of water.  Although she was acquitted this week, human rights groups have warned that she is not safe in Pakistan.

Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, Wilson Chowdhry, said it was 'incredulous' that no country had stepped forward to offer Bibi asylum. He said her continued presence in Pakistan was only putting her life and that of others at risk.
'Asia Bibi is currently in a secure location awaiting release, but the ongoing violence makes it impossible to do so with any measure of safety,' he said.
'Asia Bibi and her entire family are in need of immediate asylum. She and her family have suffered enough, she just needs a country willing to cut through the bureaucracy.
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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.


Thursday, November 1, 2018

Two Martyred Christians Told Islamists 'Christ Is Their Savior;' Families Long to See Them in Heaven


By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post


Two Christians who were murdered for their faith by Islamic radicals in Kenya apparently told the terrorists that "Christ is their savior" and that they cannot betray their faith.

International Christian Concern reported on the statements of witnesses and heartbroken families a month after the two Christians, Fredrick Ngui Ngonde and Joshua Ooko Obila, were shot dead by Somalia-based terror group al-Shabaab for refusing to recite the Islamic creed.
"The armed Somali fighters ordered all of us to [get off of] the bus and produce our identity cards. They singled out three passengers and ordered them to remain down the bus as we boarded. They asked them if they were Muslims and if they knew the Shahada and the seven verses of Suratul Fatiha. One of them recited part of the Shahada and was allowed to [return] to the bus," a witness who wasn't named told the watchdog group.
"The other two kafir men refused to obey the jihad fighters and remained adamant that Christ is their savior and they cannot deny the Christian faith. They were shot dead."
Ngonde's heartbroken wife, Penianh Mwatha, described her husband as a "caring, prayerful, and a friendly person who I hoped to spend the rest of my life with. I am still in shock. Fredrick has left me with a 2-year-old son too soon. It is painful to lose him."
"I don't know what my future will be, but I am persuaded that one day we shall see him in heaven," the tearful widow said.
Victor Oketch, Obila's brother, meanwhile argued that the other Somalis on the bus did nothing to defend the Christians when they were separated by the terrorists.
"His Somali colleagues, the driver, and the conductor, did nothing to defend him," Oketch said.
"This shows you how religious animosity is at the core of persecution in northeastern Kenya."
There have been several similar instances in the past couple of years of al-Shabaab forcing passengers off buses and separating them by religion.

One such attack in 2015 did end positively, after the Muslim passengers refused to give up the Christians, preventing a likely massacre. The act was portrayed in an Oscar-nominated movie called "Watu Wote," and was hailed by Christian leaders.

The Somali-based terror group remains one of the deadliest in Africa, however.


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.

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