Afghan Christian faces potential death sentence for apostasy; send letters

Pray for Afghan believers!

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a judge has given an Afghan convert from Islam to Christianity one week to renounce his faith, or else be sentenced with the death penalty or up to 20 years’ imprisonment, reports ASSIST News Service. The verdict is expected this week.

“Shoaib Assadullah was arrested on October 21 in Mazar-e-Sharif for giving a Bible to a man who later reported him to local authorities. He is currently in a prison in Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan,” said an ICC spokesperson. “ICC sources closely following the case tell us that at a court hearing on December 28, Assadullah was told to recant Christianity and return to Islam.”

Shoaib said he was quite certain that the court officials will give him the death penalty. He said he has given his life completely into the hands of Jesus. He is happy for the spiritual fight, saying, “Without my faith I would not be able to live.”

An ICC source in Mazar-e-Sharif was told by a court official today that Shoaib was to be summoned to court this morning at 10 a.m. local time.

You can read the full report here.

Afghanistan is a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). According to article 18, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Please consider writing to the Afghanistan embassy in Canada to express your concern.

His Excellency Jawed Ludin
Ambassador of Afghanistan in Canada
Embassy of Afghanistan in Canada
240 Argyle Ave.
Ottawa, ON K2P 1B9

You can download a letter-writing guide (includes Prisoners List) here.

Please pray for Shoaib’s release. Pray that God will strengthen him and his family during this difficult time. Pray that God will touch the hearts of Afghan officials who are overseeing Shoaib’s case.

Pakistan's blasphemy law will change 'over our dead bodies,' say Muslim cleric

Protesters held a 24-hour strike in Pakistan on Friday against amendments to the country's blasphemy law, reports Mission Network News and BBC News.

The strike resulted in the transportation shut down of two cities, Karachi and Quetta, and a partial shutdown of Islamabad. Demonstrators blocked traffic, and bus owners were reportedly nervous that their vehicles would be set on fire if they tried to drive them.

Currently, the blasphemy law mandates that any person to insult Islam must be put to death. Although no one has ever been executed under the law, over 30 people convicted have been murdered by mobs. Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, was sentenced to death on November 8, 2010, under the blasphemy law and is currently awaiting an appeals court hearing, which the High Court has yet to set.

Muslim clerics went ahead with the strike despite the claim of the religious affairs minister on Thursday that Pakistan "has no intention to repeal the blasphemy law."

You can read the full report here.

Pray that believers would be kept safe amidst the conflict. Pray that the blasphemy law would indeed be repealed, and that if it is, Christians would be protected, as one Sunni cleric warned that any changes to the blasphemy law would happen "over our dead bodies."

Bombing in Egypt is latest assault on Christians in Middle East

Copts are Egypt's largest
religious minority group and the
largest Christian community
in the Middle East.

Twenty-one people are dead following a New Year’s Day terrorist bombing at a Coptic church in Egypt, reports the Assyrian International News Agency. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on Middle Eastern Christian communities.

The car bomb explosion also injured 79 people just after midnight Saturday, as worshipers were leaving Mass at the Saints Church in east Alexandria, Egyptian officials said. The bombing sparked street clashes between police and angry Copts, who hurled stones, stormed a nearby mosque and threw some of its books into the street.

The attack was among the deadliest on Egyptian Christians in recent memory and the worst terrorist incident in the country since 2006.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak accused unnamed foreign elements of being behind the attack.

"This act of terrorism shook the country's conscience, shocked our feelings and hurt the hearts of Muslim and Coptic Egyptians," he said in an emergency address to the nation. "The blood of their martyrs in the land of Alexandria mixed to tell us all that all Egypt is the target and that blind terrorism does not differentiate between a Copt and a Muslim."

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which is being described as a suicide bombing.

You can read the full report here.

More Iraqi Christians killed in bombings

A series of 10 coordinated bombings in and around Baghdad last night appeared to target homes of Christians, police said. Two people were killed and 20 wounded, all of them Christians, said the Ministry of the Interior.

You can read a NY Times article about the bombings here.

Please continue to pray for our Iraqi brothers and sisters who have come under intensified persecution in recent months. Pray for their safety and well-being. Pray they will continue to “say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust” (Psalm 91:2).

Pakistan’s government refuses to review blasphemy laws

Pakistan's government is refusing to
review blasphemy laws like the one
under which Asia Bibi has been
sentenced to death.

The government of Pakistan has backed out its commitment to review the country’s controversial Islamic blasphemy laws, reported ASSIST News yesterday.

The government’s move is to appease Islamic religious groups who have announced that they will shutter their businesses on New Year’s Eve to protest against any move to amend the laws.

On Thursday, the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Syed Khursheed Shah, requested that merchants and those in favour of the blasphemy laws call off their nationwide, December 31 shutdown of businesses, because the government has no intention of changing or repealing these laws.

One week ago, the Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, declared that despite various pressures the government would definitely review the laws.

In the 1980s, the late General Zia-ul-Haq introduced Islamic laws against the “blasphemy” of Islam, Muhammad, the Qur’an and Islamic personalities. The laws have widely been misused against Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus and liberal Muslims. Christians and human rights groups have been demanding for the total repeal of the laws.

On Wednesday, the government in the National Assembly categorically denied any move to amend or repeal the blasphemy laws.

“The government considers that its prime responsibility is to protect this law, and it will never support any private members’ bill even from the treasury benches in this regard,” said the federal minister in a policy statement.

You can read the full report here.

In mailboxes this week

The January issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter is hitting mailboxes this week. In 2011, VOM will celebrate its 40th anniversary, and this issue looks back at the past four decades of ministry.

Inside this issue:

• You’ll learn how Klaas and Nellie Brobbel responded to God’s call after reading Richard Wurmbrand’s book, Tortured for Christ. Read how persecution has evolved in the past 40 years and how VOM has stood alongside persecuted Christians around the world during that time.
• Hear the heart transformations of Ishmael, Abdulmasi and Joshua, as they share their stories of finding Christ.
• Read about orphans in Ghana and how microloans are changing lives there. Learn about a pastor in Uzbekistan under fire from the government and a pastor in Turkmenistan who has been charged with swindling and sentenced to a labour camp.
• Arrested for proclaiming Jesus Christ to be the head of the church, not the king, Isabel Alison and Marion Harvie were led to Edinburgh’s gallows in 1681. Read how the women declare God’s goodness moments before death.
• Join us for The Voice of the Martyrs’ Prayer Conferences in March and 40th Anniversary celebrations throughout the year. Special guest Helen Berhane is scheduled to attend. Helen is a formerly imprisoned gospel singer from Eritrea and author of Song of the Nightingale.

The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter is the flagship publication of The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada. Published monthly, it is available free of charge to anyone in Canada who requests it.

You can subscribe online here.

Christmas celebrations held in Orissa, India; Christian's vehicle torched

Suranjan Naik with his vehicle
(photo from GCIC)

Several Christians were able to celebrate Christmas in Orissa state, India, this past weekend, say reports from All India Christian Council and ASSIST News Service.

In Bodimunda village, Christians reportedly celebrated Christmas together for the first time in three years. In Barakahma village, police kept watch as approximately 2,000 prayed together.

The peaceful celebrations came as a relief for many, as there had been fear that the holidays could lead to a flare-up in anti-Christian violence, especially as the state has been the site of intense attacks in recent years (see here). Fear of attacks prevented Christians in remote villages from holding Christmas celebrations.

Christmas weekend was not entirely without incident in Orissa, as a believer's vehicle was set on fire in Phulbani on December 25. Suranjan Naik and his wife, a nurse, were staying on campus at the government hospital. They were away attending a Christian celebration when their vehicle was set ablaze.

Thank the Lord that many brothers and sisters in Orissa were able to gather and joyously celebrate the birth of their Saviour, Jesus Christ. Pray a spirit of trust in the Lord, not fear, will govern the hearts and minds of believers in India. Pray those seeking to harm Christians in India because of their faith will repent of their ways and come to know Christ as Lord.

New Christian convert beaten, tortured in Iran

Karaj is about 25 km from Tehran.

A newly converted Iranian Christian and active member of a house church in Karaj was arrested in September 2010 and beaten and tortured during his interrogation at the Shahryar detention center, reports Mohabat News, the Iranian Christian News Agency.

Alireza Najafzadeh, a 23-year-old new father and resident of Sharhyar, was arrested on the charge of Christian activism. He was severely beaten and tortured physically and psychologically for three days.

While in custody, Alireza was asked about his house church activities, the names of its members and leaders and which foreign Christian networks and affiliations he was associated with. He had water poured over his hooded head, and he was kicked and beaten. On more than one occasion, he was hung from a hook and whipped with a cable or water hose. All the while, his assailants insulted him, his family, his faith and Jesus Christ.

After three days of nonstop torture, Alireza’s family was able to find someone to post bail for him. The security officers agreed to release Alireza on the condition that he not seek any medical treatment from any doctor.

“The told me if I talk about my interrogation or torture or continue my Christian activities, I would face severe consequences such as being killed intentionally by a car that would look like an accident or my family would find my dead body in a farm field outside of the town with no reasonable explanation as to the cause of death,” Alireza told a Mohabat News reporter more than two months after his release.

Alireza and his family have since fled the country. They have become refugees, losing everything because of their faith in Christ.

To hear Alireza describe his arrest and torturous experience in his own words and to see images of his wounds, click here.

Please pray for Alireza and his family. Pray for their safety, well-being and health. Pray they would be encouraged to continue standing up for their faith in the midst of trials. Pray all Iranian believers would be filled with the peace of God.

Christians killed in Nigeria; tensions rise

Tensions mount in Nigeria,
following the murder of
Christians on Christmas Eve.

Compass Direct News reported yesterday that tensions continue to mount in the Christian community in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state in northern Nigeria, following the killing of a Baptist pastor and five other Christians on Christmas Eve.

The outlawed Islamic Boko Haram sect opposed to Western education killed Rev. Bulus Marwa and the other Christians in the December 24 attacks on Victory Baptist Church in Alemderi and a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation in Sinimari.

Those killed at the Baptist church, which was set ablaze, included choir members Philip Luka, 22, and Paul Mathew, 21, as well as Christopher Balami, 50, and Yohana Adamu, age unknown. Philip Sopso, a 60-year-old a security guard, was killed at the COCIN church while 25 other persons were said to have been injured during the serial attacks by the Islamic group.

Many Christians have taken refuge to avoid further attacks as soldiers and police keep watch at churches and other strategic locations in the state.

In 2009, police crushed the activities of the Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is sin,” by arresting many of its members and killing its leader. In retaliation, the group killed police officers and was recently responsible for a prison break to set free its members in the Borno state capital.

Worried about the safety of Christians in Borno state, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, asked the federal government to curb the growing trend of terrorism in parts of the country.

“We can no longer allow this group of disgruntled elements to get away with these acts of terrorism in Nigeria,” he said.

You can read the full report here.

Will we give up or grow?

Excerpted from Extreme Devotion, a devotional book that includes 365 true accounts of men and women who totally sold out for Jesus.

Day 17
Sudan: Sudanese Boys

“Say it with us!” the soldiers screamed, kicking and punching the boys’ faces and abdomens. “Allah is God, and Mohammed is his prophet. Say it!”

The four young Sudanese boys cried and screamed out for their mothers, but they refused to repeat the words that would mean saving their live yet renouncing their Christianity. Their red blood began to flow across their black skin, but they would not give up their faith in Christ.

The older teenage boys looked on in horror. They had seen their Southern Sudanese families murdered by sword-wielding Islamic fighters. Now they watched as their four young friends and relatives—the youngest only five years old—were beaten to death.

Already the soldiers had forced each older boy to lie over hot coals and ordered them to repeat the Muslim creed and join the Islamic faith. None of the boys would say the words despite the excruciating pain.

There were 14 boys and 13 girls abducted in the raid that day. The girls have never been located and were likely sold as slaves or concubines in Northern Sudan. All of the boys were tortured, but none relented. The next night, the older boys escaped, bearing the scars of the previous nights. Not one renounced his faith.

Pain often plays an important purpose in God’s plan. Unfortunately, there is no other experience that equals its ability to grasp and focus our attention. Physical pain from a long-standing illness or sudden injury gets the whole attention of the human body. The brain sends signals throughout the nervous system to focus the body’s resources on the source of trouble. In the same way, emotional pain is difficult to ignore as well. The anguish of losing someone we love to cruel circumstances like cancer or disease, persecution or injustice can be nearly overwhelming. Whatever situation introduces us to pain, we have two options for dealing with it. We can give up. Or, we can grow. Those who experience pain can be unique ministers of God’s grace. Like an athlete in training whose muscles must be broken down through strain and exercise in order to get stronger, pain is our pathway to new growth.

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” 1 Peter 4:16 NKJV

A letter from Ukraine

Hand-embroidered items
sent to VOM from Ukraine

Under the Communist rule of the former Soviet Union, thousands of believers were martyred and many others were detained in prisons and concentration camps in Ukraine. Today, many of the survivors from this period are elderly and face health challenges. The rising cost of living outweighs their insufficient pensions, and many now live in poverty.

VOM serves these faithful brothers and sisters by providing monthly financial support to pensioners. By supporting them, we remember and honour their faithful service and sacrifice to the Lord.

We recently received a letter from Olena, thanking VOM for its support, and we want to share it with you. Because, it’s through your support and prayers that we can provide for her.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Friends!

Thank you very much for the help that was especially generous this year. I regularly receive the help. It’s a pity that perhaps you take away from yourselves in order to help us. We have nothing to pay you back except a prayer. I ask God to be gracious to you and bless your work and your generous hands.

I give you over a simple present: a small embroidered pillow, a female embroidered blouse and an embroidery for a man shirt (unfortunately, I don’t know what size do you wear) and portrait of the famous Ukrainian poet Shevchenko. Maybe, it is not done so nicely, because I can’t see well anymore and my hands do not serve me so well. I am 84 years old. I live together with my son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. My son is already on a pension, my daughter-in-law and grandson work. It is not easy to live in our small provincial town.


We live very modestly and buy only necessary things. But we thank God for everything.

I am very grateful to you for the Bible.... It helps me a lot and gives me strength to live.

Every day I pray for all of you.

Sincerely Yours,

Olena

You can find out more about the ways in which VOM supports persecuted Christians around the world by visiting VOM’s website.

Blasts in Jos kill 32 on Christmas Eve

BBC News is reporting at least 32 people—many assumed to be Christians—were killed in bomb blasts in central Nigeria on December 24. The bombs were detonated during Christmas Eve celebrations near the city of Jos.

No group has claimed responsibility for the string of attacks at this time. Nigeria’s president, Jonathan Goodluck, has said the government will do all it can to find those responsible for the attack.

More than 70 people were injured in the blasts.

ASSIST News Service reports that Gregory Yenlong, a spokesman for Nigeria's Plateau state, told Bloomberg news agency that there had been threats “to disrupt Christmas celebrations in Jos.”

You can read the BBC report here.

Read the full ASSIST News Service report here.

Celebrating courage

"Stoning of Saint Stephen" by
Pietro da Cortona (1660)

Written by Cheryl Odden

By the middle of the second century, the early church was experiencing waves of persecution in the Roman Empire. As the church grew and became more organized, it developed traditions that live on today. During the second century, the church began celebrating “saint days,” honouring their brethren’s courage on the days they were martyred. Today, some churches still celebrate saint days.

Today—December 26—is the day that honours the early church’s first martyr, Stephen, whose story is told in Acts 6-7.

A man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, Stephen was gifted in preaching the gospel and defending the Christian faith. Chosen as one of seven men to ensure Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jewish widows were receiving the food they needed, Stephen continued his preaching ministry. Hecklers were no match for Stephen. So, some chose to silence him for good.

When rumours spread throughout the city that Stephen had blasphemed God, the Law and the temple, he was hauled before the Jewish legal council called the Sanhedrin. Stephen answered the accusations through a lengthy monologue, telling God’s redemptive history from the time of Abraham to Jesus Christ. However, the Sanhedrin’s interest turned to anger when Stephen accused their forefathers of persecuting the prophets who told of Christ’s coming and crucifying Him.

With those words, they were done listening. In fact, Scripture says they were so mad that they gnashed their teeth. But Stephen wasn’t intimidated. He looked up and told the rage-filled crowd that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Covering their ears and drowning out his voice with shouting, the crowd hauled Stephen outside the city gates. Despite rocks hitting his young frame, Stephen prayed for his persecutors.

All the while, a young man named Saul stood watching, holding the cloaks of those who hurled the rocks, ending Stephen’s life.

Soon after Stephen’s death, Saul enacted a crackdown on the church, arresting the fleeing Christ-followers. But one time as he pursued them, he encountered Jesus Christ, setting this zealous persecutor of the church on a different course.

Today, take a few minutes to thank the Lord for Stephen’s courage. Ask God to continue filling His people around the world with the power of the Holy Spirit so they can witness boldly for Him amidst hostile situations as Stephen did.

The Voice of the Martyrs has published a children’s illustrated storybook about Stephen called God’s Witness: The Courage of Stephen. To order, visit our website at http://www.persecution.net/.

Merry Christmas!

A song, a saint and a square

Statue of St. Wenceslas in
Wenceslas Square. Sculpture by
Josef Václav Myslbek.

Written by Cheryl Odden

Here’s a riddle: What do a song, a saint and a square have in common?

If you answered King Wenceslas, you are correct!

King Wenceslas lived during the 10th century in Bohemia, now the western half of the Czech Republic. Wenceslas was not a king but a duke. He was born to parents Drahimora and Ratislav around the year 907, but it was Wenceslas’ grandmother, Ludmila, who taught him about the Christian faith and the importance of helping the poor and suffering.

When Wenceslas was just 13, his father died. Since he was too young to take the throne, his mother ruled and did so with an iron fist. She disliked Christianity. She imprisoned priests and persecuted believers. Worried that Wenceslas and his grandmother would conspire against her, Drahimora refused to let Wenceslas have any contact with her and ordered her to be killed. One night while his grandmother slept, she was strangled.

Distraught over his grandmother’s death, Wenceslas knew he needed to act. Despite his youth, he banished his mother to a nearby country and took the throne as duke of Bohemia.

Unlike his mother, 18-year-old Wenceslas ruled with a gentle hand. He released the priests from prison and encouraged German missionaries to spread Christianity throughout Bohemia. He showed kindness to the poor and children without parents and pledged his loyalty to Germany’s King Henry I. These actions angered his younger brother, Boleslav, whose hatred of Christianity and fierce jealousy of Wenceslas’ reign resembled that of his mother’s. So Boleslav and other angry nobles plotted their revenge.

Boleslav invited Wenceslas to a religious festival where he treated him well. One day, as Wenceslas walked to church, Boleslav followed him. Knowing his brother was behind him as he stood at the church door, Wenceslas rightfully sensed trouble. Boleslav drew his sword and struck Wenceslas on the head.

Wenceslas managed to hurl his brother to the ground only for Boleslav’s men to pin him down and stab him in the hand. Again, Wenceslas got away and ran to seek refuge in the church, but he was struck down at the door where he died on September 20, 929.

But Boleslav’s plan to wipe out his older brother backfired on him. Wenceslas’ short reign of five years was forever etched in the hearts of Bohemians and Czech citizens, who made him the patron saint of their country.

More than 900 years after Wenceslas’ ruthless death, his example of generous giving inspired Reverend John Mason Neale to pen the words to the Christmas carol, “Good King Wenceslas.” Just before Neale wrote the song, the people of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, decided their town square needed a better name. Used as a horse market since the 1300s, the boulevard was renamed “Wenceslas Square.” And with its new name came a statue, featuring Wenceslas on his horse, that was placed at the top of the square in the early 1900s.

This Christmas, as you clear your throat to sing “Good King Wenceslas,” think about the man whose actions inspired the song, made him a saint and earned him the naming of a square.

Churches on alert for terror at Christmas

Governments in India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have boosted security during the fourth week of Advent, reports Mission Network News today.

In all of these areas, churches have either been threatened or attacked in years past. For several of these countries, the attacks are fresh.

The brutal killings of Iraq's Christians have led thousands to flee the country. In Egypt, Christians are under severe pressure and siege. A church bombing in Indonesia three weeks ago leaves believers feeling jittery.

It's a strategic time for an extremist to be heard, says Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA. "If you were someone who wanted to make a point against Christians, that would be a day you might decide to strike."

It's an obvious choice. Christmas is considered one of the more important celebrations in the Christian faith, celebrating the birth of a Savior and the beginning of an unfolding plan for reconciliation with a holy God. Many believers coming together to mark this makes a tempting target. "Christmas is a time when Christians gather for Christmas Day services or Christmas Eve services. If you are looking for a large group of Christians to attack, they're all gathered at one place, at one time."

Nettleton says as the family of God, those who are not living through the persecution experienced by believers in hostile countries still have a responsibility. "The first and most important thing is that we pray. Secondly, though, I think we can keep our eyes open because it's important for the government officials to know that Christians here are watching and are aware of what's going on to make sure that it's on their radar."

You can read the full report here.

Iraqi Christians fear Christmas attacks

Iraqi Christians are scaling back
Christmas celebrations, fearful
of attacks.

VOM’s partner-mission Release International is reporting today that many churches in Iraq's major cities have been forced to cancel their Christmas services after extremist websites threatened further attacks.

Religious rights group Middle East Concern reports that many services in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk have been called off after threats of violence were posted online on Tuesday for the second time.

Kirkuk's Archbishop Louis Sarko told Agence France-Presse news agency that he and 10 other Christians had received threats from a group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq. This group, which has links with al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the attack on October 31 on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad in which 53 Christians were killed.

A number of churches have decided not to put up Christmas decorations either. Instead, tall concrete barriers flank many with entrances guarded by security.

The UN estimates that 1,000 Christian families have fled from Baghdad and Mosul to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq since October 31 (read more here).

Some of the extremist threats online repeated calls for the release of two women in Egypt whom militants insist are being held against their will by Coptic church leaders. Extremists claim the women have converted to Islam. Egyptian church leaders and government officials have repeatedly denied these claims.

Iraq is one of the nations in which VOM takes to the airwaves to share the gospel and encourage believers. In June, VOM partnered with High Adventure Bible Voice to distribute 1,000 radios preset to a program called “The Voice of the Lord” to people in Kirkuk. The program reaches more than 700,000 people.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters living in Iraq this Christmas. Pray for their safety and well-being. Pray they will not be anxious, but they will know God’s peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-8).

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:9-11

Crisis in Ivory Coast deepens

The former president of Ivory Coast
has until Sunday to concede defeat.

Yesterday, Mission Network News reported that the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) continues to face a political standoff, concerning the results of a November presidential election.

The European Union has given Former President Laurent Gbagbo until December 26 to concede defeat or face sanctions. He has yet to yield power to the declared winner, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo and Ouattara both claim to have won, but the African Union, the United Nations and other international observers have given Ouattara their endorsements and demanded the incumbent step down.

Already there are reports of protests, escalating violence, and the concern that the country is heading to full-scale civil war.

Earlier this month, Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, wrote a prayer bulletin about the country for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission. She writes that the stakes are extremely high.

“Decades of Muslim mass immigration has tipped the demographic balance so that Ivory Coast—officially around one-third Muslim—is now actually majority Muslim with immigrants from Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea comprising up to 40 percent of the population. Ivory Coast's non-Muslims are traumatised, fearing that their homeland—once a strategic Christian centre—is about to come under the political domination of Muslims. War threatens.”

Please pray specifically for God to:

• Give Ivory Coast's Christian leaders—pastors and politicians—great spiritual wisdom and authority.
• Bring revival to the Church in Ivory Coast so believers will be compelled to go out with the gospel in boldness, empowered by the Holy Spirit, so that Ivory Coast might be spiritually transformed.
• Intervene in the tense climate by interposing a spirit of restraint, compelling the people to seek a negotiated solution as a means of averting another destructive civil war—a war that would certainly attract international jihadists.

You can read the full prayer bulletin here.

Fight against Pakistan's blasphemy law continues

Asia Bibi

Spero News is reporting that the “fight over blasphemy continues unabated in Pakistan” as appeals and initiatives on behalf of Asia Bibi, a jailed Christian woman sentenced to death, continue around the world.

This week, the High Court in Lahore is expected to set the date for Asia’s appeal. However, extremist Islamic parties and organizations have launched a campaign in favour of Pakistan’s blasphemy legislation, announcing street actions and strikes over the coming weeks.

“Maulana Fazl ur Rehman, head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islma Fazl party, launched the campaign at a press conference,” said the Spero News story. “He said that the campaign would unfold in three stages: demonstrations on December 24 after Friday prayers, a general strike on December 31, and a great rally on January 9, 2011, in Karachi.”

Maulana Fazl said that religious parties are "united on the issue." He insisted that he would oppose any attempt by the government to change the blasphemy law.

Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari stated that he wanted to modify the controversial law, which has been condemned around the world.

You can read the full report here.

Please continue to pray for Asia and her family.

100 Canadian-Arab Christians targeted

The Canadian Press reported on Monday that names of more than 100 Canadian-Arab Christians appear on an al-Qaida-affiliated website, apparently targeted because of their alleged role in attempting to convert Muslims.

The Shumukh-al-Islam website, often considered to be al-Qaida’s mouthpiece, lists pictures, addresses and cell phone numbers of Coptic Christians, predominantly Egyptian-Canadians, who have been vocal about their opposition to Islam.

Three pages of the Arabic-language website set to “identify and name all of the Coptics throughout the world who hope to defame Islam.” The website calls Coptic Christians living abroad “dogs in diaspora,” a derogatory reference in Arabic.

Salim Nagieb, who helped establish a Coptic organization in Canada is described on the website as opposing Islamic Shariah and converting Muslims to Christianity. His picture, career background and cell phone number are listed on the website. He says he will not be frightened.

“I only fear God,” said Mr. Nagieb. “These websites mean nothing anymore.”

Mr. Mansour believes he is being targeted because of comments he made in an interview on CTV News where he was discussing the media’s coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian war. He said the fact that his picture, cell phone number and comments are displayed on the Shumukh-al-Islam website is an indication that fanatics are keeping a close eye on what happens in Canada.

You can read the full report here.