Pastor Youcef reportedly in imminent danger

Please pray for Pastor Youcef!
Photo: Present Truth Ministries

There has been an extremely dangerous turn of events for an Iranian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, leading to an increased likelihood that the regime will execute him for his faith, reports the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

Pastor Youcef’s case had been stalled due to increased international pressure and the Iranian court’s request that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, decide Pastor Youcef’s fate (for more information, click here). Now, because Pastor Youcef has continually refused to give into the regime’s demands that he renounce his Christian faith, the likelihood that the Iranian regime will execute him increases by the day.

ACLJ notes the situation has not been this dire since Pastor Youcef’s story was first reported.

Please pray for Pastor Youcef, and please share this latest update with your friends, family members, and churches.

To find out how you can raise a voice for Pastor Youcef, click here.

First hearing scheduled for Iranian pastor Youcef Nardarkhani

Please pray for Youcef Nardarkhani!
(Photo: Present Truth Ministries)

The first hearing for Youcef Nardarkhani, an Iranian pastor who received a death sentence for apostasy, has been scheduled for September 25, reports Middle East Concern.

In July, the Supreme Court instructed the Revolutionary Tribunal of Gilan Province to review Youcef's case to verify whether he was previously a practicing Muslim (for more information, click here). Youcef claims that, although raised in a Muslim home, he was never a Muslim by choice, conviction, belief or consistent practice, and that he should therefore not be regarded as an apostate.

If the Tribunal concludes that Youcef was previously a Muslim and so is now an apostate, the Supreme Court's ruling makes clear that he should then be executed unless he recants his faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

You can help by praying!

• Pray that Youcef will not be declared an apostate.
• Pray that he will remain firm in his faith and know the presence and peace of Jesus each day.
• Pray that his wife, Fatemeh, and their two sons will know the comfort and hope of Jesus, and that the family will be reunited soon.
• Pray that all officials involved will act justly in this case.

Christian Convert from Islam facing execution in Afghanistan

Pray for Said Musa's release.

Said Musa, who was imprisoned in Afghanistan for converting from Islam to Christianity, is reportedly facing execution.

In the second week of February, an Afghan judge allegedly informed Said that he would be hanged within days if he did not renounce his faith in Christ and reconvert to Islam.

A 15-year employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul, Afghanistan, Said was arrested on May 31, 2010, after a television station in Kabul broadcast images that allegedly showed Western Christians baptizing Afghans. Since his arrest, he has remained in Kabul Detention Center, where he has reportedly suffered sexual assault and torture and been denied access to a lawyer.

Godfrey Yogarajah, the Executive Director of The Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance, recently called attention to the illegal and unjust treatment of Said. "The arrest of Said in the first place and the subsequent demands for death for apostasy violate at least three provisions of the Constitution of Afghanistan," he said.

Said's trial is reportedly the first for apostasy that has reached near execution since the Taliban's fall.

Pray for God's enduring comfort and peace for Said in prison. Pray that, even in chains, he will exalt and praise the Lord. Pray for his release. Pray also for Said's wife and six children, who fled to Pakistan after his arrest, that they, too, will continue to find strength in Christ.