Iranian Christian website targeted by government

The Iranian government has been targeting Farsi-language websites for being "anti-Islamic," including a news site dedicated to exposing the systematic persecution of Iranian Christians, reports Beliefnet and Mohabat News.

The number of Internet users in Iran has risen sharply in recent years, threatening the government's grip on information and causing officials to form a special committee to monitor web access. More than 5 million so-called "immoral" and "anti-Islamic" sites have reportedly been blocked. The government has also stated their plan to intensify the filtering of various sites.

Mohabat News, which serves Persian Christians in Iran and surrounding countries, has been shut down repeatedly in the past year. In February, cyber-attacks shut down the site for two days.

On August 19, attackers overloaded the server and forced the site down for three days. Managers of Mohabat News were eventually able to transfer the website onto a more secure server operating outside the country. Other such sites, however, are not able to operate from an outside server, raising fears that they will continue to be vulnerable to attacks.

Please join us in praying!

• Pray that the attacks on Mohabat News and other such sites will cease. 
• Pray for courage and wisdom for those involved in raising a voice online for suffering Iranian Christians. 
• Pray that a spirit of unity and faithfulness will govern the Church in Iran as believers face opposition. 
• Pray that the Word of the Lord will continue to touch many hearts in Iran.

Muslim clerics call for Bible ban in Pakistan

Bibles to be banned in Pakistan?

Radical clerics at a Lahore mosque have launched a campaign asking Pakistan’s Supreme Court to declare certain biblical passages blasphemous, reports CNS News. The lawyers say they will move for the Bible to be banned formally across the nation.

The campaigners claim particular passages of the Bible are blasphemous, because they depict Muslim-respected characters as flawed or immoral. Among biblical figures respected by Muslims as prophetic figures are characters such as David, who the Bible describes as being an adulterer and murderer.

The initiative is being spearheaded by Abdul Rauf Farooqi, leader of Islamist organization Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami-ul-Haq (JUI-S). Farooqi said the political action is in response to the Qur’an burning by Florida pastor Terry Jones in March 2011.

However, Asif Aqeel, director of the Lahore-based Community Development Initiative, said Pakistani society should understand that the Christian community should not be punished for the act of any international individual.

Aqeel said JUI-S needs to remember that not even Mohammed banned the Bible despite his knowledge of the Bible’s different viewpoint.

Naveed Walter, the president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan told CNS News that he was shocked to hear about the Islamists’ plan to attack Christians in this way. “They usually attack individuals, groups, churches and communities of Christians, by falsely accusing them of blasphemy,” he said. “But this time they are planning to ban even the Bible in Pakistan. The extremists have crossed all limitations of extremism.”

The Christian community of Pakistan is being encouraged to respond to this danger without fear, trusting God to protect His Word as He has for thousands of years.

You can read the full article here.

You can help by praying!

• Pray Pakistani Christians will remember that God has preserved His Word for centuries and will continue to do so.
• Pray they will remember that the sacred writings of the Bible “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).
• Pray that, as the apostle Paul, they would not be ashamed of the gospel, “for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Riot police take on worshippers in Azerbaijan

Pray for believers in Azerbaijan!

Three religious communities in Gyanja, Azerbaijan, have been banned from meeting for worship, reported Forum 18 News Service.

The worship bans were imposed in mid-March because the communities do not have state registration. However, Babek Sadykov of the Gyanja Police denied this ban, claiming, "no one is being prevented from worshipping."

Local sources told Forum 18 that one of the communities was warned that "if they met for worship on the following Sunday or at any future date they will all be arrested." Two buses full of ordinary police and riot police later arrived to prevent any religious worship. Protestants told Forum 18 that the church had already reluctantly decided not to hold one big Sunday service that day. "People are now very afraid."

Meanwhile, President Ilham Aliev told a government-initiated World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue that "freedom of religion freedom of conscience has been fully established in Azerbaijan."

Ask the Lord to grant true religious freedom in Azerbaijan. Pray believers will be encouraged to continue to meet together despite opposition (Hebrews 10:23-25). Pray believers will be unified and encouraged as they continue to walk in faith and be an effective witness for the gospel to all those around them, including the local police.