Pray for Eugenia, Who Ministers in a Difficult Area

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Voice of the Martyrs

Eugenia and her husband have endured a series of hardships over the past few years while leading several house churches in rural Chiapas, Mexico. 

Their car was stolen at gunpoint, a man attacked Eugenia with a machete as she returned home from a church meeting, and their house was burned to the ground by arsonists trying to run them out of the area. 

They continue to trust in the Lord for protection and say they have no ill feelings toward those who have tried to hurt them. Please pray for Eugenia and her family as they continue to share the gospel in this difficult and dangerous region.

icommittopray.com is a  place to gather and pray for the persecuted church. Read prayer requests from around the world and post your own prayers specifically for your brothers and sisters who are being persecuted.

Use this link to join your brothers and sisters who are adding their voices and committing to pray for the persecuted ... and whenever possible The Voice of the Martyrs will share all the prayers that are posted with the highlighted persecuted Christians and their families.

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. 

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A Temporary Win for Religious Universities in California

RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE

A big-time threat to religious freedom in California has been somewhat mitigated—showing once again our prayers and efforts make a difference.

By: John Stonestreet
BreakPoint

It can seem to us that each day brings news of yet another setback or some new ominous cultural development that’s concerning to Christians, each one another straw on the back of an already overloaded camel.

But as recent events in California demonstrate, these trends can be resisted and, if not reversed, at least held at bay.

In late June, Eric Metaxas told us about California’s Senate Bill 1146. The bill, as its author, Senator Ricardo Lara, admitted, targeted Christian colleges and universities that adhered to traditional Christian teaching on human sexuality, including same-sex erotic relationships.

The bill would have required schools receiving religious exemptions from state or federal anti-discrimination laws to disclose this fact publicly. This alone would have created a state-mandated “hit list” that would have facilitated harassment and worse from LGBT activists.

article continues at http://www.breakpoint.org

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Muslim Children Embrace Christ - Only to be Beaten Up and Cast Out as 'Infidels' by Their Own Families

Children rejoice inside their classroom in Uganda
after hearing about the Good News.

By Hazel Torres
Christian Today

In this African country, even children who turn to Jesus Christ are punished as severely as adults, with their parents as the culprits.

In the latest of such incidents, eight children from a village in Uganda were beaten up by their Muslim families and kicked out of their homes as "infidels" after they embraced Jesus. Moreover, the pastor who showed them the way to Christ was threatened with death by the angry Muslim extremists, the Morning Star News reports.

The children—whose ages range from 9 to 16 years old—converted to Christianity after meeting with Pastor Brian Mukisa from the Power Gates Church.

Gushing with joy at their newly discovered love for Jesus, the children innocently told their parents about their conversion—only to be shocked by their parents' vehement reaction. Their parents beat them up severely and forbid them from attending worship services.

Not content yet, the parents and other members of their families trooped to the Power Gates church and set it on fire, with one of the arsonists even threatening to kill Pastor Mukisa.

The pastor was forced to relocate his congregation to a temporary house about 6 miles away from the site of the original church.

"Your church activities will not be tolerated in this area," the attackers told Pastor Mukisa, adding that "if you do not leave our village, then we shall soon come for your life."

Pastor Mukisa said many of the children are still recovering from injuries they sustained from their parents' beatings. They are now taking refuge at the relocated church.

"The parents have totally disowned them as infidels," the pastor told Morning Star News. "They need prayers to come to terms with the separation from parents for choosing Christ."

Story of persecution of children continues 

Conservative Leaders Call on Media to Report on Genocide of Christians

By Michael W. Chapman

(CNSNews.com) – In an August 10 letter to ABC, CBS, and NBC, more than 30 conservative leaders called on the networks, and the media overall, to seriously and aggressively cover the genocide of Christians in the Middle East and Africa, “and continue to do so until the civilized world puts an end to this evil.”

“Christianity is on the verge of being wiped out in the Middle East,” the letter reads. “Ancient communities that have existed since the time of the apostles are being systematically eliminated. In Iraq alone, the number of Christians has plunged from one million to under 275,000 in the last 12 years alone.”

“This is not a few instances of violence or vandalism,” states the letter. “This is a Genocide.”

Thousands of Christians have been slaughtered by the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, and tens of thousands of Christians have fled their homelands into refugee camps in Jordan and other countries. Christians are also being killed in Africa and South Asia by radical Muslims.

The U.S. government officially declared this atrocity “genocide” in March 2016, and other governments and human rights leaders started calling it genocide as early as 2013.

article continues at http://cnsnews.com/news

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New Boko Haram Leader Instructs Followers to Focus on Killing Christians

by Veronica Neffinger | Editor,
ChristianHeadlines.com

The Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram reportedly has a new leader who has said the group’s main objective is to target Christians. 

RelevantMagazine.com reports that Abu Musab al-Barnawi is the new leader of the ISIS-linked terrorist group. This information was obtained from the ISIS newspaper al-Nabaa.

Boko Haram is responsible for killing thousands of people in Nigeria, including both Muslims and Christians, and has contributed to the national crisis the country is facing.

The terrorist group now says it will specifically target Christians and will fight the “Christianization of society.”

The group says it plans on “booby-trapping and blowing up every church that we are able to reach, and killing all of those [Christians] who we find from the citizens of the cross.”


Boko Haram’s new leader said the group also aims to target humanitarian groups that seek to provide aid to Christians and others who have been affected by the conflict

Thousands of Nigerians have been displaced in the war that is raging, and left without food and shelter. The conflict has been ongoing for seven years.

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. 

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MUSLIMS Threaten California Church with “Allahu Akbars” During Sunday Mass

By Jim Hoft

Gateway Pundit

Father Josiah Trenham described the threats on his Orthodox Church in California.

Muslims screamed “Allahu Akbars” at St. Andrew Orthodox Church during its Sunday service. They brought their bullhorn so everyone would get the message.

Via FOX News and Jihad Watch:

As Father Josiah Trenham prepared to read the Gospel, several parishioners discreetly scooped up their babies, retreated up the aisles of St. Andrew Orthodox Church and out into the spring air, so as not to allow the crying of little ones to disturb the divine liturgy.

The time-honored tradition was shattered when a car passed by the Riverside, Calif., church, slowing down as the front passenger leaned out of his window and bellowed menacingly through a bullhorn, according to witnesses.

“Allahu Akbar!” the unidentified man repeated several times as the unnerved parents drew their infants close and exchanged worried glances.

Members of the church were gathered under the main archway when
the car passed slowly by, its occupant allegedly yelling "Allahu Akbar!"

 over a bullhorn.  (FoxNews.com)

Witnesses were able to give Riverside police a description of the green Honda Civic, but not of the three occupants. Some told police they believed one or more of the men may have been taking photographs, according to Officer Ryan Railsback. Although Trenham insisted multiple congregants heard the Arabic phrase, Railsback noted no mention of it was in the police report.

Whatever the case, no law was broken – even if an unmistakable message was sent and received.

“Be calm and to keep a special vigilance over the property and our children while we are at church,” Trenham wrote in an email to parishioners in which he recounted the disturbing event. “Pray that these provocative young men might repent of their intimidation and be saved.”

Trenham told FoxNews.com last week the situation remains “tense and tenuous,” and said the church now has security officers on hand for all regular services.

“It is a deep sorrow to live this way in the ‘new America,’” he said.

Website: thegatewaypundit.com

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. 

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Christians Forced to Hide Bibles Amid Migrant Muslim Death Threats

By Virginia Hale
Breitbart News

Bundestag member Erika Steinbach and Iranian-born pastor Mahin Mousapour called for much stronger sanctions for Muslims who abuse Christians in Germany at a press conference on Monday.

Highlighting the fact Christians suffer violence, harassment, and death threats in migrant lodgings, Ms. Mousapour criticised Germany for granting Islam “too much respect”. Declaring anti-Christian hate attacks an affront to German values, politician Erika Steinbach advocated the government deport migrants who insult or attack Christians.

At the press conference Ms. Mousapour, who converted to Christianity more than 25 years ago, reported that Christians face various forms of persecution in migrant housing.

Ms Mousapour warned that Christians living in migrant housing are told they are “impure as a dog” and deserved death for rejecting Islam.

“Toys of Christian children are being destroyed, Christian asylum seekers are told not only to wash their dishes after eating but also that they must clean the entire kitchen as it would otherwise be ‘unclean’. Many Muslim asylum seekers call all Christians unclean. Church services are held in secret, bibles and crucifixes have to be hidden,” she explained.

Ms Mousapour, pastor of the Evangelical Free Church, disclosed that even converts who no longer live in migrant housing attract Muslims’ ire, and recounted her experience of being threatened at knifepoint on the street.

website: breitbart.com/london

Catholic Editor Flees Bangladesh for US in Fear of Her Life

Family members of Tarishi Jain, who was killed in the attack
on the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O'Kitchen Restaurant in 

Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 4, 2016. Rueters

By James Mcintyre
Christian Today

The Catholic editor of a Bangladeshi newsletter critical of the government has fled to the US in fear of her life, the Catholic News Service (CNS) reported.

Rosaline Costa, 67, has for 30 years been editor of Hotline Bangladesh, a monthly publication which chronicles corruption, crime, terror and religious violence in the country.

Now living in New York City, Costa is reported to be working out how to keep the newsletter going remotely.  Since July, Costa has been staying with two nephews and a niece, both of whom themselves left Bangladesh after threats and harassment.

The journalist told the CNS that her niece's Muslim uncle was trying to force her into marrying him, and that one nephew was taken to a mosque and told to convert to Islam under fear of death.

The other nephew, an art student, was followed by Muslims and told to convert and then join in trying to recruit others to Islam. Costa said: "After that, I did not allow him to go to the university any more for classes".

Bangladesh has seen a rise in religious violence in recent years.  Recently, Islamist terrorists have been stepping up their persecution of Christians in Bangladesh after a rapid rise in converts.

 Story continues

UNRWA Aids Hamas Military Wing. Education Funds Used to Indoctrinate Palestinian Children to Hate and Kill Jews

By David Bedein
Israel Behind the News

Over the past week, the World Vision, a well-known humanitarian organization, was formally accused and indicted for secretly aiding military activities of Hamas, designated as an FTO by the US – a “Foreign Terror Organization”.

Yet a much larger humanitarian organization looms on the horizon, which openly aids Hamas military operations.

That organization is United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Regugees in the Near East (UNRWA) , the agency that hosts descendants of Arab refugees from the 1948 war in refugee facilities for perpetuity.

UNRWA operates with a budget of more than one billion dollars, provided by more than forty western nations. The US is the leading donor to UNRWA, donating $400 million each year to UNRWA.

Working with an Israeli-Palestinian team of journalists over the past few years, I have documented and filmed how UNRWA allocates cash from donor nations to conduct military training for children in the UNRWA classroom along with weapons training camps which Hamas organizes for UNRWA children.

Al-Kutla al-Islamiya, a division of Hamas, runs military activities, which attract UNRWA’s younger students, paving the way for recruitment in al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

UNRWA “education” teaches children how to fight, shoot lethal weapons, use hand grenades, and climb through various spaces all in preparation for war.

After exposure to al-Kutla, elementary and middle schoolers join a week long war games program, held in a military campment, where they study “jihad, determination, to trust Allah and other Islamic values” in addition to military tactics.

Here is a case where a UN agency actually violates the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which states “children… should not be forced or recruited to take part in a war or join the armed forces”.

Yet all this is occurs in the public domain, without a peep from 38 nations that donate more than a billion dollars each year to UNRWA, with the notable exception of Canada.

View "Children's Army of Hamas" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO4UKXmr8zk 

View also, "The UNRWA Road to Terror: Palestinian Classroom Incitement" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnLIzNGb9gI 

Website: israelbehindthenews.com

Iraq: Three Young Priests Ordained in Refugee Camp to Serve Persecuted Christians Who Fled ISIS

Tens of thousands of Christians fled to Erbil when
ISIS overran the Nineveh Plain in 2014

By Carey Lodge
Christian Today

Exactly two years since ISIS militants forced 50,000 Christians to flee Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, three young priests from the city were ordained in a refugee camp in Erbil, and want to bring hope to the persecuted.
Reuters

Around 1,500 people gathered in a church inside the Aishty 2 camp on Friday, where more than 5,000 people are living after being forced from their homes by Islamic State. Fr Roni Salim Momika, Fr Emad and Fr Petros were ordained as priests of the Syriac-Catholic Church.

"We left Qaraqosh during this time two years ago," Fr Momika told Catholic News Agency, adding that it has been a time of challenge and sadness for Christians in Iraq.

"Before it was a bad day because we became refugees and ISIS entered to Qaraqosh, but now this day became a good day because it's our ordination and we give hope to our people," he said.

Fr Momika has for the past two years been working with young people and women in the refugee camp, and hopes to continue his work there. He wants "to stand with the refugees," he said.
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His role, he added, is "to give Christ to the people", and instill "power, hope and courage" to Christians who have endured persecution and suffering at the hands of ISIS.

Before the militants overran the city in 2014, Qaraqosh was hope to Iraq's largest Christian community, with at least a quarter of the country's Christian population living in the city and its surrounding towns.

Website: christiantoday.com

Iraqi Christian Refugee Prays for ISIS Terrorists Who Killed Her Relative

By James Macintyre
Christian Today

A Christian refugee from Iraq whose relative was violently murdered and mutilated by Islamic State has described how she prays for the terrorist organization.

Christina Shabo, who was born under a tree in a refugee camp after her family fled bombing in Iraq in 1991, told the Catholic News Agency (CNA): "I asked Jesus for the grace to forgive every time I would pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet (a Catholic prayer). But instead of praying 'For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world,' I pray 'have mercy on ISIS and on the whole world.'"

Shabo, 25, first gave her testimony to fellow youth on 29 July at World Youth Day (WYD), outlining the events that led her family to flee Iraq and those that have occurred after the rise of ISIS in 2014.

In an interview with CNA, Shabo explained that she was asked at the last minute to incorporate a message of forgiveness into her talk at WYD. She said that her first thought was, "I don't forgive ISIS." Shabo went on: "I've struggled with it, because I haven't gotten there yet. It's a daily reminder," she said.

Shabo's mother was eight months pregnant when her family made the decision to leave Iraq and travel through mountains into Turkey in 1991 due to the threat of bombing during the Gulf War.

Many others took the same decision and some died along the way, including her 8-year-old cousin Rita. When Rita died, Shabo's uncle didn't "have it in his heart" to bury her in the mountains, so he carried her body the rest of the way into Turkey, she said.

Read the rest of this compelling story

Islamic Persecution of Christians Can't Stop Iranians from Finding Faith in Jesus as More Testimonies Pour Out

Christian women attend a church service in Tehran, Iran, in undated photo.

Reuters

By Hazel Torres

Christian Today

Imprisonment, beatings and even death—those things don't scare newly converted Christians in Iran anymore as their number continues to grow at an amazing rate.

According to the reference book Operation World, there were only about 500 Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) in 1979, when the Islamic revolution swept to power in Iran. MBBs refer to people who converted to Christianity from Islam. Now, Operation World estimates that at least 100,000 MBBs are now in Iran, with some sources even placing the number as high as 1 million.

How could Muslims turn their backs on the faith they have grown with? What's happening in Iran?

Mark Howard of Elam Ministries explained the phenomenon to CBN News in a recent interview. He said two main factors are involved: dissatisfaction with the harsh Islamic regime coupled with disillusionment with Islam in general and the bold outreach by Christians inside the country.
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"I think first and foremost we have to acknowledge that many people have been praying for Iran for a long time and that the Lord is doing something special in that region," he said.

His group, Elam Ministries, was founded with the main objective of strengthening the Iranian church both inside the country and among the diaspora living in the Middle East and Europe.

Writing in a blog on The Gospel Coalition web page, Howard said Iranians from various social backgrounds—including hardened criminals, Muslim imams and abused women—have come out with compelling testimonies on how they found faith in Christ.

One of those who revealed how they found Christ is Fatemah, a young Muslim girl who had been sexually abused by her brothers. When she was 11 years old, she said her family sold her into marriage, but soon her husband divorced her and sent her back to her family. Facing the prospect of more sexual abuse from her own kin, Fatemah ran away and began living on the streets.

It was there that she heard about Jesus and she readily gave her life to Him. She eventually married a Christian man. When the couple attended a ministry training session hosted by Elam Ministries, Fatemah felt that the Lord was telling her to go back and minister to her family. Despite misgivings from her husband, Fatemah returned to her family.

To her surprise, her family listened to her Gospel message. Even more surprising, her parents and siblings all followed her and embraced Christ, too!
Now, they have turned their home into a house church with Fatemah as one of the Christian leaders in their community.

Howard said Fatemah's story demonstrates not just the saving power but also the transforming power of the Gospel.

"The Lord saves us, but the Gospel's also full of the power to redeem and the power to restore and to bring reconciliation and her testimony really speaks to that and shows it in a very powerful, tangible way," he said.

Website: christiantoday.com 

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. 

Franklin Graham Disagrees With Pope Over Islamic Terror

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

Franklin Graham, who heads up the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan’s Purse relief charity, has rebuked Pope Francis for saying that while the world is at war, the conflict has nothing to do with religion.

“It most certainly is a war of religion,” Graham said in a posting on Facebook.

CNN reported Francis said the world “is at war because it has lost peace.  There is a war of interest, there is a war for money, a war for natural resources, a war to dominate people. Some might think it is a war of religion. It is not,” he said. “All religions want peace. Others want war,” the pope claimed.

His statements came shortly after Islamic jihadists killed a Catholic priest in France.

Graham said: “I agree that the world is at war – but I disagree that it’s not a war of religion. It is most certainly a war of religion.” He said religion “is behind the violence and jihad we’re seeing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and here in this country.”

 “It’s a religion that calls for the extermination of ‘infidels’ outside their faith, specifically Jews and Christians. It’s a religion that calls on its soldiers to shout ‘allahu akbar’ [“Allah is supreme” in Arabic] as they behead, rape, and murder in the name of Islam. Radical Islamists are following the teachings of the Quran,” he wrote. We should call it what it is.”

Some Catholics don’t agree with their leader.

Religion News Service reported U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a former Vatican official who is based in Rome, said last month that Islam “wants to govern the world” and Americans must decide if they are going to reassert “the Christian origin of our own nation” to avoid submission to Muslim rule.

WND reported Graham recently called out President Obama for refusing to recognize and acknowledge the threat from Islamic radicalism and terrorism.

Article continues

American Christians Should 'Take Seriously' Terror Threats

By World Net Daily
Exclusive

The religious war launched by Muslims against Christianity is nothing new, notes Charl Van Wyk, who heroically returned fire during a terrorist attack on his own church in South Africa.

“Over 400 million Christians live in 67 countries which severely restrict and persecute believers,” Van Wyk said. “Open Doors USA says that in an average month, 332 Christians are killed for their faith, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed and 772 forms of violence, such as beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests and forced marriages, are committed against Christians worldwide.”

Van Wyk was present during an attack on the St. James Church in Cape Town, South Africa in 1993 in which terrorists opened fire with grenades and automatic weapons. Van Wyk hit one of the terrorists with his snub .38 revolver. He chronicled his experience in “Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self Defense.”

Van Wyk said Christians have always been under threat of violence.

“Yes, Christian churches are directly under threat of terrorism,” he said. “But this is not foreign or ‘new’ to the church, the body of Christ, worldwide. What is happening is that those who have lived fairly sheltered lives, in what were Christianized nations, are now also seeing and feeling the heat of this curse.”

Carl Gallups, a pastor, former law enforcement official and author of Carl Gallups, a pastor, former law enforcement official and author of “Be Thou Prepared: Equipping the Church for Persecution and Times of Trouble,” agreed the history of Christianity has always been about coping with terrorism and persecution.

“I do not suggest that Christians live in paranoia and constant fear,” said Gallups. “Since the birth of Christianity, God’s people have been persecuted, murdered, hunted down, targeted and terrorized – many times by government decrees and legally opened doors that made it all possible. So, this is not a new thing to the Christian world. What is new, like Van Wyk says, is how this threat is spreading to nations like America.”

Churches throughout Europe are on alert after ISIS warned of new attacks. Only a few days after a French priest was beheaded during a worship service, churches in the United Kingdom were told by the British Home Office to review their security procedures. However, some religious leaders are resisting the move, saying churches must always remain a place of sanctuary.

World Net Daily article continues

North Korea Bans Crosses Amid Fresh Crackdown on Christians

By Anthony Bushfield
Premier

Items with crosses on them are being confiscated across North Korea as the secretive state begins its latest crackdown on Christianity.

The dictatorship has banned crucifixes and crosses, according to Radio Free Asia.

Clothing, books, jewellery and other items are being binned by officials in a bid to wipe out all signs of faith.

Kim Jong-un's regime is atheist and believes North Koreans should only worship the country's leaders.

Students have even been warned to take care when writing plus signs in maths lessons to avoid them being mistaken for a cross.

"We've always had to make sure there were no Korean characters on the labels of products that we brought in from China," said one shop keeper on Radio Free Asia.

"Now we have to check again to see that there isn't anything that looks like a cross.

Read more about No. Korea Crackdown on Christians

Franklin Graham Explains Why He is Moving Christian Persecution Summit From Russia

An orthodox priest baptizes a child in the Yenisei river in Siberia during
a ceremony in late July marking the Christianisation of Russia by its
 grand prince, Vladimir the Great, in 988AD.  Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

By Ruth Gledhill

Christian Today

Evangelist Franklin Graham has said he is cancelling a summit meeting on persecuted Christians in Russia because of new laws restricting Christian freedom.

Instead, the summit will take place in the US next year.

Writing  on Facebook, Graham said: "Earlier this year I announced that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association would hold the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians – the first event of its kind in Moscow.

"We were looking forward to this significant event being held in Russia because no one knows modern Christian persecution better than the church that suffered under communist rule."

However, just a few weeks ago Russia passed a law that severely limits Christians' freedoms, he added.
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"It seems that every week we learn of another example from a part of the globe that shows how critically we need to have this world summit in defense of persecuted Christians."

The meeting which will now take place May 10-13 next year in Washington, DC.

Graham said: "Hundreds of Christian leaders, advocates, and persecution victims from all around the world will come together to address the atrocities being done to those who profess the Name of Jesus Christ."

"As our team continues to prepare for this historic event, please join me in praying for our brothers and sisters in the Lord who are being persecuted for their faith."

Last month Russia's new anti-terrorism laws came into force, containing severe restrictions on Christian evangelization and other freedoms. The new rules make house churches illegal and limit religious activity to registered buildings.

Russia's Council of Churches-Baptists warned that in an open letter the laws will "create conditions for the repression of all Christians."  The Protestant Churches of Russia described the new laws as "the most draconian anti-religion bill to be proposed in Russia since Nikita Khrushchev promised to eliminate Christianity in the Soviet Union."

Read more about the Christian Persecution Summit

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Antisemitic Incidents Rise Sharply as 'Worrying Trend' Continues

The Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, told MPs he was "deeply concerned"
about the rise of antisemitism

By Harry Farley

Christian Today

Antisemitic incidents rose by 11 per cent in the first six months of the year in a "worrying trend" developing in the UK.

The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors the safety of the Jewish community, compiled data on hate incidents targeted at Jews and said there had been 577 cases from January to June 2016, up from 473 in the same period last year.

The charity said there was "no obvious single cause" for the rise.

However it said the from April to June there was "sustained public debate about antisemitism, particularly in relation to the Labour Party, and about racism and extremism more generally".

An inquiry into antisemitism was launched by the Labour party after the suspension of Naz Shah MP and former mayor of London Ken Livingston. It found the party was not overrun by antisemitism but admitted an "occasionally toxic atmosphere".
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The CST report found that a quarter of recorded instances involved social media, which had become an "essential tool" for those who wanted to harass, abuse or threaten Jews. A total of 431 incidents related to abuse, which included verbal abuse, antisemitic graffiti, abuse online and hate mail.

More than three-quarters of incidents were recorded in Greater London and Greater Manchester, both cities with large Jewish populations. But the 62 incidents that happened in Manchester represented a 54 per cent fall compared to last year.

The charity's chief executive, David Delew, said: "This rise in reported antisemitism comes at a time when division, intolerance and prejudice appear to be deepening within our society."  

Article continues

Modern Day "Daniel in the Lions Den" Miracle: Christian Persecution Not New, Says Convert Tortured by ISIS

By Hazel Torres

Christian Today

"ISIS is not the problem."

The statement comes from the Rev. Majed el-Shafie, a Christian convert who suffered horrible torture at the hands of Islamic extremists and experienced a "miracle" in prison when rabid dogs unleashed to maul him did not even touch him.

Shafie told the Daily Express in a recent interview that although many people view the Islamic State (ISIS) as the largest threat facing the world, the problem really is the unfettered growth of hard-line Islamist ideology worldwide, as magnified by the ISIS.

"ISIS is not the problem, before them it was al-Qaeda, before them it was Hezbollah and Hamas and before them there were other organizations," he explained. "The problem is the ideology of the extremists and the Muslim community has to work with us" [to change it].

The Christian convert who suffered greatly for upholding his Christian faith said the solution to the global terrorism problem has to come from Muslim nations, pointing out the need for them to change hard-line jihadi ideology with a "big focus on education."

He noted that Muslim nations like Pakistan are giving children textbooks that incite hatred towards Christians and other non-Muslim groups. He said ridding Islamic schools of radical indoctrination is an ideal place to start uprooting the problem of terrorism.

Shafie also said the global persecution of Christians is not really a new phenomenon since "this has been happening to Christians in the Middle East for hundreds of years" now.  "It might be shocking right now but it's not new," he added.

In the Express interview, Shafie also recalled how he was imprisoned, heinously tortured and sentenced to death in Egypt for converting from Islam to Christianity and helping build house churches in 1998.

"They shaved my head, they put my head in freezing cold water and then into boiling hot water," Shafie said. "They burned their cigarettes on me, they electrocuted me.

"They cut me and put salt in my wounds," he added. "I still wake with nightmares about it, even now 20 years on."

One incident he could not forget was when the guards let a pack of dogs into his cell with the intent to tear him bodily apart.

Read Shafie's prison miracle

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New Boko Haram Leader Vows to Kill all Christians

In this Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 file photo, people inspect a damaged mosque

following an explosion in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Credit: AP Photo/Jossy Ola.)

By Crux

Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria- Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamic extremists have a new leader who is threatening to bomb churches and kill Christians while ending attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims, according to an interview published Wednesday by the Islamic State group.

He also says there is a Western plot to Christianize the region and has accused charities of using their aid for that, according to a SITE Intelligence Group translation of an interview published Wednesday in the Islamic State newspaper al-Nabaa.

The newspaper identified Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new “Wali,” or governor, of its so-called West Africa Province. The “Wali” title was previously used to describe long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.

The report did not say what Shekau’s current status was, although there have been rumors for weeks that he had been replaced.

The interview with al-Barnawi indicates a major shift in strategy for the Nigerian extremists, who have killed many more Muslims than Christians in attacks in mosques with suicide bombers and gunmen.

There have also been attacks on crowded marketplaces in predominantly Muslim areas and the killings and kidnappings of school children. The targeting of students accounts for its nickname Boko Haram, which means Western education is sinful or forbidden.

“They strongly seek to Christianize the society. … They exploit the condition of those who are displaced under the raging war, providing them with food and shelter and then Christianizing their children,” SITE Intelligence quotes the new leader as saying.

Al-Barnawi says the militants will respond to that threat by “booby-trapping and blowing up every church that we are able to reach, and killing all of those (Christians) who we find from the citizens of the cross.”

Boko Haram story continues

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Defending Chaplains from Anti-Christian Zealots

by Skip Ash
American Center for Law and Justice


I have to confess that it’s getting more and more difficult for me to “speak the truth in love” to some people. Some folks are just never going to get it, no matter what we do. It’s like casting pearls before swine. It reminds me of the tongue-in-cheek saying, “Hey, don’t cloud the issue with facts!”

Once again, Mr. Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is alleging that a number of military chaplains have violated everything from military regulations to the Constitution of the United States itself. The alleged offenses? First, that the chaplains attended an awards ceremony in uniform for Congressman Randy Forbes, founder of the Congressional Prayer Caucus and staunch supporter of the military chaplaincy, to honor him for his support of chaplains; and, Second, that two of the chaplains, one from the Army and one from the Air Force, gave the invocation and benediction, respectively, once again in uniform.

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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. 

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Help Free 108 Pastors Jailed in Vietnam

from Caroline Craddock
CitizenGO team

Over 100 pastors in Vietnam are behind bars as authorities attempt to control the growth of Christianity in the region.

A ministry leader in Vietnam, who was given the pseudonym “Su” for security reasons, told ChristianAid, “The government wants to combine [churches] to limit their growth and have more control." He continued, "If the pastors refused to sign a paper saying they would combine and that their gatherings would not go over 500 people, they would be beaten or thrown into prison."

This unjust prison time is even more concerning due to the horrific and life-threatening prison conditions in Vietnam. According to sources, prisoners who do not follow strict protocol have been poisoned without a trial.

Christians only account for about 10% of Vietnam’s population, and they have long faced an uphill battle in terms of religious freedom. But problems for Christians escalated over the last few weeks as 60 new pastors were abruptly sent to jail. The newly arrested pastors join more than 40 pastors who are already behind bars. Many of the pastors have been in jail since 2001.

Vietnam's Constitution and legal code claim to protect freedom of belief and religion, but there are many restrictions on the growth of religious minorities. Churches are forced to register to hold meetings, and unjust impediments to registration exist in many regions. Religious groups that are seen as a threat to the communist government are often shut down.

We need to let authorities in Vietnam know that the international community is watching to ensure the prompt release of these pastors.


Please take a moment to sign this petition by clicking on the image below to help us raise awareness about these grave injustices. Christians all over the world should be free to spread the gospel and worship freely. 

 

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Does the First Amendment Protect Warrior Religions?

by William Kilpatrick
Crisis Magazine

After every Islamic terrorist attack, whether in Europe or the U.S., people ask what can be done to prevent it from happening again. But when the obvious solutions are proposed, they are invariably met with the objection that “you can’t do that,” or “that’s unconstitutional,” or words to that effect.

Some of the obvious solutions are to close radical mosques and radical Islamic schools, to monitor suspected mosques, to deport radical imams, and, of course, to restrict Muslim immigration or ban it altogether. If you dare to say such things, however, it quickly becomes apparent that—for many, at least—only politically correct solutions are acceptable. The trouble is, the politically correct crowd doesn’t have any solutions. In the memorable words of French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, “France is going to have to live with terrorism.”

Catholics are frequently in the forefront of those who object to these “drastic” measures for preventing terrorism in the West. Pope Francis, for example, has made generosity to refugees and immigrants a hallmark of his papacy. Christians, he has reminded us on several occasions, should build bridges, not walls. Others, Catholics among them, have objected that restrictions on Islamic immigration would violate the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution—as would surveillance of mosques and Islamic societies.

Catholics are understandably touchy about the subject of religious liberty. But concerns over Christians being forced to bake cakes for same-sex weddings shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow some other basic questions about religious liberty.

One of the questions is this: does a religion that doesn’t believe in religious freedom for others qualify for First Amendment protection? Another, related question might be framed as follows: Is a religion that calls for the subjugation of other religions entitled to the “free exercise” of that mandate? The underlying issue, of course, is whether or not Islam really qualifies as a religion. As any number of authorities have pointed out, Islam is a hybrid—part religion and part a geo-political movement bent on world domination.

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