Likely NK successor thinning ranks

Did you know the blue bands in NK's flag signify
sovereignty, peace and friendship? Not words
typically associated with the country.

Yesterday, we posted excerpts from a WEA-RLC Research and Analysis Report that explored what a change in leadership in North Korea will mean for persecuted Christians living in the communist nation.

Today, AsiaNews is reporting that Kim Jong-un, the like successor, is not waiting around for his father’s death to consolidate his power, and has begun purging government and party ranks under the guise of an anti-corruption campaign.

On Kim’s orders, police raided party offices and arrested party officials suspected of corruption. The Seoul-based North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity reports that 15 senior border officials were arrested and charged with bribery, smuggling activities and turning a blind eye to people fleeing the country.

"This is a purge for generational change . . .  . Senior officials are trembling with fear because they don't know where heads are going to roll," a spokesperson for the group said.

As feared in the WEA-RLC report, the young Kim is following in the footsteps of his elder, who reportedly had people executed in the 1990s every time problems proved too difficult to handle.

AsiaNews says the ruthlessness of the young Kim is probably why Kim Jong-il appointed him deputy party secretary and deputy president of the Central Military Commission, choosing him over other sons and pretenders to the throne of Pyongyang.

You can read the full story, “Kim the ‘third’ to thin out party ranks,” at AsiaNews.

Continue to pray for salvation of the Kims and safety for North Korean Christians. Pray that the words "sovereignty," "peace" and "friendship" become words that do, in fact, symbolize the country and its leaders' actions.

Bring VOM to your community

A vital part of the ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs is sharing with you the biblical message and testimonies of today's Persecuted Church from around the world. We have speakers who travel to locations throughout Canada, doing just that. Visit our website today to check out upcoming presentations and locations near you.

Are you interested in inviting VOM into your church, conference, seminar, small group or other setting? We welcome your invitations. Visit our website to contact our booking coordinator or to fill out our online request form.

We look forward to sharing stories of the Persecuted Church with you and your community.

Egyptian Christian detained at airport

Sherif Muhammad was
detained one week ago
and has not been heard
from since.

One week ago, Sherif Hassan Abdelwahab Muhammad, an Egyptian Christian, and his British wife were detained at the Cairo Airport following a trip from the United Kingdom, reports Middle East Concern (MEC). While on their way to passport control, the couple was approached by a plainclothes security official who asked Sherif, a UK resident, to identify himself. Upon stating his name, Sherif was detained. MEC says that no one has heard from Sherif since November 9.

Sherif’s wife, Emma, was asked to hand over her passport and plane ticket. She was then escorted to another room. She was issued a boarding pass for return to the UK on the same plane that brought the couple to Cairo. She has received no word of her husband’s whereabouts, nor any explanation of his detention or possible deportation.

Sherif has been detained in Egypt on numerous occasions since his conversion to Christianity 19 years ago. During these detentions, he was only questioned about his conversion and the peaceful exercise of his Christian beliefs, including his relationship with other Christians.

He has never been charged with any crime under Egyptian law.

International law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Egypt is a state party, clearly states that everyone has:

• the right “to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice” and
• “either individually or in community with others and in public or private, manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”

Please consider calling, writing or emailing the Ambassador of Egypt to Canada and petition his intervention in this case to ensure that Sherif’s human rights, as well as his right to peacefully exercise his belief in Jesus Christ, are respected.

Shamel Nasser
Ambassador of Egypt to Canada
Egyptian Embassy
454 Laurier Avenue East
Ottawa, ON  KIN 6R3
Tel: 613-234-4931, 613-234-4935
Egyptemb@sympatico.ca

You can also email the offices of the following individuals:

H. E. Muhammad Hosni Mubarak
President of Egypt
webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
Please address him as “Excellency.”

Habib Ibrahim El Adly
Ministry of the Interior
moi@idsc.gov.eg
Please address him as “Minister.”

Play pray for Sherif and his wife. Pray for Sherif's protection and release. Pray that God would fill the two of them with peace. Pray for the authorities involved that God would move and cause them to release Sherif immediately.

How will North Korean succession affect Christians?

North Korea

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) sponsors a WEA-RLC Research & Analysis Report to help individuals and groups pray for and act on religious liberty issues around the world. A recent report explores what a change in leadership in North Korea and will mean for persecuted Christians living in the communist nation.

Since its formation in 1948, atheistic North Korea has been ruled by one family. The current leader, 68-year-old Kim Jong Il, suffers from a long list of health issues and is believed to have had a stroke in 2008. His youngest son, 28-year-old Kim Jong-un, is likely to be his successor.

As the report notes, the likely succession is significant because it concerns a nuclear-armed regime that has been one of the world’s worst violators of human rights and one of the greatest threats to world peace.

Not to mention a huge threat to Christians living within its borders.

Most believers, estimated to be over 450,000 (as per the Center for the Study of Global Christianity), are part of the underground church. Recently, a 50-year-old North Korean Christian, Son Jong Nam, was tortured to death in a prison as he was caught with 20 Bibles and 10 cassette tapes of hymns, reported Associated Press in July 2010.

According to the National Human Rights Commission of South Korea, North Korea runs six large prison camps for political prisoners. Together, they hold an estimated 200,000 inmates—one in every 100 people in the country is in jail, most likely facing death—and are used as a key tool to suppress potential dissidents and tame famine-hit people by spreading a sense of fear. It is believed that many of these inmates were imprisoned for their faith in or preaching Christianity.

So, will a succession affect change?

The report says that, above all, the North Korean regime wants to maintain its control over the country, which requires it to balance the external threat and meet economic needs at home. Christians are seen as a Western-influenced threat to the government. The future of Christians depends on the compulsions the new regime will face to hold its grip on power.

For the succession to take place successfully, says Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the US-based Heritage Foundation and former official from the US intelligence, there must be no opposition to the leadership of the Kim family. And, that is likely. But, it is possible that an inexperienced Kim Jong-un will be challenged by members of the party’s elite. Also, a collapse of the regime cannot be ruled out.

However, if everything goes as planned in the succession, there will be little change in the regime’s policy and persecution and repression will carry on.

Continue to pray for North Korea's leaders, that the Holy Spirit would bring them to repentance and belief. Pray for a watershed moment in God's timing that will bring thorough change, freedom and complete transformation to the land. Pray for fellow brothers and sisters, for their emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.

To read the full report, visit World Evangelical Alliance.

Hoodies are here!

Consider wearing your beliefs on your sleeve and across your chest by pulling on a Voice of the Martyrs hooded sweatshirt this winter season.

Hoodies are $35 and available in blue or white. Sizes M, L, XL and XXL. Limited quantities. While supplies last.

Order yours today by visiting VOM’s Online Resource Catalogue.

Jailed for showing a film about Jesus

Bhutan means "Land of the Dragon."

Think about all the films you’ve watched in your lifetime. How many, if you had to guess, had a Christian theme or presented some angle of Jesus’ life on earth? Countless, no doubt. When thinking about what Jesus might look like, who in the Western world hasn’t thought of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth, George Steven’s The Greatest Story Ever Told or Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ?

And, whom among us thought twice about watching those films or ones like them?

Last month, VOM sources reported that a Bhutanese Christian was sentenced to three years imprisonment for "attempting to promote civil unrest" by showing films about Christianity.

Prem Singh Gurung, a 40-year-old ethnic Nepalese citizen living in southern Bhutan, was detained while showing Christian films in the Gonggaon and Simkharka villages. A court in Gelephu, reportedly said Gurung had violated Sections 105(1) and 110 of the Bhutan Information, Communication and Media Act, requiring authorities to screen all films before public presentation.

Bhutan is one of the world’s least evangelised nations. Proselytism and incitement to convert are illegal. Bhutanese officials are reportedly defending Prem’s sentencing, saying that although they respect the freedom of religion, “no person shall be compelled to belong to another faith by means of coercion or inducement."

This past Friday, police attempted to arrest two more Christians for involvement in showing a film about Jesus. The two Christians were not found and were still in hiding, said advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC), which closely monitors the case.

Please continue to pray for our Bhutanese brothers and sisters who make up less than 1 percent of the country’s predominately Buddhist population. Pray for true spiritual liberation and for growth of the Church in this land.

IDOP 2010: Pray with us this Sunday

Richard Wurmbrand wrote about the power of prayer in the May 1989 The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter:

Prayer has more power than an atomic bomb. It has changed both Russia and China, where the situation has eased to some extent, though the governments are still decidedly anti-religious. The chief cause of this change has been the loving prayers of the sufferers for their henchmen, seconded by the prayers in the West of Christians we have alerted and informed.

When I was in prison, Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals and Adventists were all in the same cells and endured the same atrocities. Instead of arguing about less important things, we united in love and prayer for the killers, and we used every occasion to tell our torturers about Christ.

This Sunday, we encourage you to join with believers around the world and pray for Christians who suffer for their faith during the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Downloadable resources such as prayer points, Bible readings, devotionals, video, testimonies and children’s material are still available at http://www.idop.org/.

Just as the Apostle Paul asked the church in Thessalonica to pray, we ask you to stand with us and pray for those in the midst of persecution, that God would continue to work in their lives and do a work in the hearts of those around them.

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honuored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5).

Kindergarteners and police officers

Classrooms are for learning, not policing.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of your 5 or 6-year-old child’s classroom being searched by police officers because his teacher is a Christian? In restricted nations around the world, this practice is not an oddity, but rather, the norm.

VOM sister-mission China Aid reported on Tuesday that the Public Security Bureau (PSB), accompanied by officials from education bureaus, raided Chinese kindergarten classrooms in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan.

Sun Haiping, wife of house church pastor Wang Dao, is in charge of the three schools. She is also part of the Chinese delegation, now in Washington, DC, focusing on democracy and religious freedom. Her main purpose as a part of this delegation is to elaborate on the persecution of house churches in Guangzhou.

“If this was a normal school inspection, the PSB would not have been there, and it would have been led by the Education Bureau,” she said on Tuesday. “The schools are at risk of being shut down.”

During the invasions, PSB questioned teachers and children concerning where Sun was, and what her purpose was for traveling to the US. They also asked if the school owned Bibles or distributed them to students.

According to Sun, the schools where raided by police because she is visiting the United States to speak about democracy and religious freedom. Authorities applauded Sun’s generous actions in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008, but now she is being targeted for speaking about the freedom and justice that the Chinese constitution promises, but the authorities withhold from citizens.

Please pray that Sun Haiping and Wang Dao will stay strong and faithful and that the children in these schools will be able to continue receiving quality education from these equipped believers.

UPDATE: Asia Bibi remains steadfast; appeals sentence

A VOM contact in Pakistan had the opportunity to meet with Asia Bibi in the court place on Monday, prior to her sentencing. Surrounded by police and prison guards, he spent 25 minutes speaking to her and praying for her. During their conversation, Asia said the following:

“It does finally not matter to me whether I am sentenced or whether the judge will set me free because I know that I am innocent and most of all I know that the Lord is with me. They persecuted Jesus also, and the Bible says that they will persecute us as well.”

What an amazing testimony! Especially in light of her death sentence, which Asia is appealing. Her attorney is planning to submit an appeal and will wait to hear about a court date. VOM sources say that the court is currently reviewing cases from 2005.

Asia Bibi's husband and daughters.

While in Pakistan, the VOM contact was also able to meet Asia’s husband, Ashiq, and her daughters, Isham and Isha.

Please continue to pray for strength and peace for Asia and her family. Also, consider using the information below to contact the High Commissioner for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and share your concerns about the unjust treatment of Pakistani Christians.

His Excellency Akbar Zeb

High Commissioner for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

10 Range Road

Ottawa, ON K1N 8J3

Tel: (613) 238-7881

Fax: (613) 238-7296

Email: parepottawa@rogers.com

Wondering what or how you should write to a government official? Here is some advice:

• Write a short, clear message.
• Be polite. Remember you are representing Jesus Christ.
• State your general concern for persecuted believers and Asia’s case in particular.
• Do NOT write about politics or the government.

Here is a sample letter:

Your Excellency,

This week Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy. The story of her case is circulating around the world, and thousands of Christians in Canada know about it. I ask that her sentence be reversed and that she be released from all charges and allowed to return home to her family. I am praying for you as you lead your country.

Sincerely,

Your Name

For more information about writing to government officials, download a PDF of VOM’s letter-writing guide and prisoner list.

New wave of attacks target Iraqi Christians

Our Lady of Salvation church after the
Oct. 31 attack (from Ankawa.com).

Less than two weeks after Islamist militants killed 58 individuals in an attack at Baghdad’s main Syriac Catholic church, further attacks have killed at least five Christians and injured 33 others.

Suspected Islamist militants detonated 11 bombs in Christian suburbs across the Iraqi capital on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, striking indiscriminately at shops and homes owned by members of the increasingly vulnerable minority.

In the aftermath of the church massacre, The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front, announced its intention to open upon the country's Christians “the doors of destruction and rivers of blood.” It posted a statement on militant websites last week calling for the continual bloodshed of Christians in the Middle East.

“Baghdad right now is just gripped by terrorism against the Christian community and there is no other way to put it,” said Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA. “I’m using the word ‘religion-cide’ to explain to people what is really taking place in Iraq right now. Extremists are concentrating their efforts to eliminate Christianity from that country.” He noted how sad this effort is given that Christianity has been in the land that is now known as Iraq for two millennia.

Christians in Iraq have expressed frustration as well as desperation after the attack, saying that the Iraqi government only speaks word of protection but is unable to provide security for the beleaguered community. An Open Doors contact in Baghdad sent the following message on Wednesday:

“[T]errorists have started to kill the Christians in their houses in many different places of the city. My family and I are very stressed and afraid. It is very horrible and we are safe now, but maybe we are the next victims. Why is there no real safe place in Baghdad? Will we also leave Baghdad or not? We do not want to leave. We are born here. My family has lived here for ages and now I am forced to escape? What is this kind of world? Please pray for us to keep us safe until Friday, when we can get out for a few days.”

Continue to pray for the victims' families and for divine intervention.

Excerpted from The Christian Post and Assyrian International News Agency.

Bhutanese government may legalise Christianity

Bhutan

As Christians living in the Western world, it can be difficult to imagine daily life without Bibles, Christian literature and our pick of churches in a 15-kilometre radius. And, yet, there are populations of people in this world who are unable to freely worship or attend a church of their choice.

In the South Asian country of Bhutan, government officials recognise only Buddhism and Hinduism as the country’s two religions. As a result, only these two communities have the right to openly practise their beliefs and build places of worship.

That may soon change as Bhutan’s religious regulatory authority is expected to consider recognising Christianity before the year’s end.

For the first time in Bhutan’s history, the Buddhist nation’s government seems ready to grant much-awaited official recognition and accompanying rights to a miniscule Christian population that has remained largely underground. The authority that regulates religious organisations will discuss—at its next meeting in late December—how a Christian organisation can be registered to represent its community.

Thank the Lord that movement forward is being made. Pray for our fellow Bhutanese brothers and sisters and their efforts to share Jesus Christ with those around them. Pray that the meeting will take place in December and that God will move among those gathered and open hearts to hearing His name and the words of His people.

You can read more about the plight to legalise Christianity in Bhutan by viewing “Legal Status Foreseen for Christianity in Buddhist Bhutan” posted on Charisma Magazine.

PRAY: Pakistani woman sentenced to death

Asia Bibi and her family

VOM sources are reporting that Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-two, has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani court for blasphemy. She is the first Pakistani woman ever to receive this sentence for blasphemy.

Yesterday, a court judge gave Asia the maximum sentence at the end of a trial that lasted more than 16 months. Asia, a farm labourer in her late 30s from Ittanwali, Punjab province, was also fined more than the equivalent of an average worker’s two-and-a-half years’ salary. The decision comes as a crushing blow to Asia and her family as well as all Pakistani believers and those who have been praying for Asia’s release.

Police first filed a case against Asia in June 2009, after her local Muslim co-workers accused her of making derogatory comments against Islam’s prophet, Mohammed. VOM first reported on this story on June 24, 2009, and wrote an update last week about Asia languishing in prison.

Please pray for a reversal of the court ruling. Pray that God would soften the hearts of those in charge of Asia’s case. Pray God's perfect peace that surpasses all human understanding over Asia and her family.

Want to do more? You can voice your concern by sending emails directly to the offices of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations.

Office of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari

ambassador@embassyofpakistanusa.org

Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations

pakistan@un.int

For more information about writing to government officials, download a PDF of VOM’s letter-writing guide and prisoner list, “Doing time for God.”

Imprisoned in a shipping container

Ever imagined yourself living inside a metal shipping container? Of course not. Shipping containers are made for moving inanimate goods around the globe, not for human comfort, and certainly not for housing. So, imagine Helen Berhane’s shock when she found herself living in one. The reason? She was imprisoned in her homeland of Eritrea for refusing to deny Jesus Christ as her Saviour.

Below is peek into Helen’s dramatic experience of being persecuted for His name’s sake, as excerpted from Song of the Nightingale: One woman’s dramatic story of faith and persecution in Eritrea by Helen Berhane with Emma Newrick.

A single candle flickers, its flame barely illuminating the darkness. They never burn for more than two hours after the container door is locked: there is not enough oxygen to keep the flame alive any longer. It will go out soon.

The woman behind me shifts in her sleep and her knees dig painfully into my back. I try to wriggle over to give her more room, but I am already pressed up against another sleeping body. I pull my blanket up higher and curl up as much as I can. Despite the proximity of so many people, it is freezing cold. Condensation drips from the roof and slides down my cheek, and when it moistens my lips I taste rust. The air is thick with a dirty metallic tang, the ever-present stench of the bucket in the corner, and the smell of close-pressed, unwashed bodies.

I peer around, trying to work out where she is, the woman whose mind is gone. There is a dark shape standing by the small window hacked roughly into the side of the container. I stiffen. Sometimes she blocks the opening by stuffing her blanket into it, cutting off our limited supply of fresh air. Other nights she shouts and wails, rocking the container so that none of us can sleep. She is worse now there are more of us: 19 in a space that can only sleep 18. Tonight she is quiet, and it makes me uneasy.

But, I am so tired, and so I force my body to relax against the hard floor. Abruptly the candle snuffs out, I close my eyes, and think of my daughter: Please Lord, keep her safe.

The floor creaks. Someone must be getting up and stumbling across the sleepers to the toilet bucket. I try to shut the noise out. Suddenly, without warning, hands close on my neck like a vice. My eyes fly open, but it is too dark to see. Then there is a guttural snarl, and I know that it is her, the mad woman, her fingers tight on my throat. I push myself up but I have no breath to scream, and I am not strong enough to shake her off. So I do the only thing I can do: I bang my free hand on the wall of the container and kick out. All around us prisoners are waking up. One tries to pull her away from me, but now she has one hand on my throat and the other knotted in my hair, yanking it away from my scalp. I gulp down a breath and manage a scream. The other prisoners start to shout, too, and bang the sides of the container. There are shouts now coming from outside, and the sound of hurrying feet, the screech of the bolts sliding back and the pop as air rushes into the container, and then the doors are flung wide open.

My eyes burn as torchlight sears across my face, and then a guard is yanking her away from me and beating her about the head and body with his baton. I fall onto all fours, gasping in air. The guards pull her out of the container, and slam the doors again. The other women rush to crowd around the tiny window, so small that only one can see out. One does, and whispers, “They are beating her!” Her voice is low so as not to anger the guards, who do not like us to look out. She risks another glance. “They have tied her outside.” The others start to lie down again, looking forward to a few hours of sleep before the guards come again to march us to the toilet field.

I lie down, too, but my scalp feels as though it is on fire, and I know that I will not sleep tonight. Sometimes I cannot believe that this is my life: these four metal walls, all of us corralled like cattle, the pain, the hunger, the fear. All because of my belief in a God who is risen, who charges me to share my faith with those who do not yet know him, a God who I am forbidden to worship. I think back to a question I have been asked many times over my months in prison: “Is your faith worth this, Helen?” And, as I take a deep breath of the sour air, as my scalp sings, the mad woman rants outside, and the guards continue on their rounds, I whisper the answer: “Yes.”

Want to read more? You can order this book through The Voice of the Martyrs Online Catalogue.

For more information about the persecution of Christians in Eritrea, visit The Voice of the Martyrs' Eritrean Country Report.

8 house churches closed in Syria

Check out a 60-second Overcomers video...



To view more videos about the persecution of Christians around the globe, visit Persecution.TV.

Iranian pastor to be held indefinitely

A little more than two weeks ago, VOM sources reported that Iranian Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani was sentenced to death by the Assize Court of the province of Gilan. Pastor Youcef, a leader in the Full Gospel "Church of Iran" network was arrested in October 2009, after protesting a decision by the government requiring that his son study the Qur'an. As of October 21, a formal verdict had not been delivered.

This past Friday, sources inside Iran confirmed that security officials informed the court not to deliver an official verdict, citing the amount of international attention the case is receiving. While the Iranian officials originally assumed they could hide their actions, the international attention has forced them to maintain appearances, thus deciding to neither deliver a sentence of death nor execute Pastor Youcef at this time.

Continue to pray for Pastor Youcef and his family, his release and his protection during this time of isolation.

To read more about the persecution of Christians in Iran, visit VOM’s Iran Country Report.

Won't you pray with us?

The plea of persecuted Christians remains unchanged: "Please, pray for us." Often their prayers are requests for strength. Many ask the Lord to make them mentally strong to withstand severe pressure to deny Him. Others ask for physical strength following violent attacks. Some cry in prayer for the ability to forgive their persecutors.

This November 14, Christians worldwide are setting apart an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), as a special time to pray for the suffering Body of Christ around the globe. This year's theme is "Hearing Their Cry" from Psalm 10:17: "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry."

There is still time for you, your friends and your church group to get involved in this exciting prayer initiative. Visit http://www.idop.org/ to find out more and to download special resources designed to equip you to pray for your persecuted family.

Chinese authorities raid Christian's home

Last week, approximately 10 police officials raided the home of a Christian in Beijing, China, in an effort to search for Hua Huiqi, a formerly imprisoned pastor. Every room in the house was ransacked, including a bedroom belonging to a child. The officials questioned the homeowner about intentions to meet with foreigners later that evening.

In response to the incident, the owner later spoke these powerful words: "Because the Beijing police have crossed the line, and have blatantly and continually abused the basic rights of my entire family, I hereby announce that today I will begin to continually fast and pray. I will pray to the Lord to bless China and to fill it with righteousness! I also request, brothers and sisters, that you pray for me and my family, and that God may grant us freedom from fear!"

Pray that this believer will continue to set Christ apart as Lord without giving in to fear, always prepared to share Christ while living a holy life (1 Peter 3:14-17). Pray that other Christians facing opposition in China will also remain confident in Christ and look prayerfully and faithfully to Him. Pray that China will no longer violate the human rights of its citizens. Pray also for safety for Pastor Hua Huiqi.

*Image of Pastor Hua Huiqi is provided by ChinaAid.

Somalia's Christians plead for prayers during Ramadan

According to The Christian Post, Somalia’s underground Christian community is requesting prayer. You can read their report below:

Somalia’s underground Christian community is asking fellow believers worldwide to pray for their safety during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.

The tiny Christian population is regularly persecuted by Islamic extremists. They are requesting that fellow Christians pray they can live in peace with their Muslim neighbors. Ramadan began Aug. 11 and ends on Sept. 9.

“We are called criminal and apostate. What is our crime? We are Christians! We suffer because of what we believe,” said a Somali Christian, whose name is withheld for security reasons, to Open Doors USA.

“Please pray for all Somali Christians who suffer persecution to not seek revenge but commit their case unto God.”

Religious zeal and extremist activity generally increase in Somalia during Ramadan, noted Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog. Many Christians in Somalia must pretend to be practicing Muslims in order to remain safe.

A Somali Christian shared that after the suicide bombing last month in Uganda, the believer had to attend a Friday prayer meeting at the local mosque.

“I was there because I need to blend in with the crowd. That saves my life, my family and my colleagues,” the Somali Christian said.

When the prayer leader praised those behind the suicide bombing, people at the mosque shouted “Allahu Akubar,” which means “God is great.” The Christian joined with them even though the believer did not agree with the action of the suicide bombers.

“But this is the normal way things are for the Christian community in Somalia,” the Christian noted.

Somalia is ranked No. 4 on the Open Doors World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians.

In June, Compass Direct News reported that a 17-year-old girl who converted to Christianity was severely beaten for leaving Islam and was chained to a tree by her family.

An Islamic extremist group, called al Shabaab, which is linked to al Qaeda, is reported to be responsible for the murders of several Christians in Somalia.

Al Shabaab militants killed Mohammed Ahmed Ali, a convert to Christianity who led an underground church, in January. And in 2009, its members were behind the beheading of four Christians who worked for a local non-governmental organization that helps orphans in Southern Somalia. The Christians were converts from Islam and were beheaded for apostasy. News of their deaths was relayed to their families by an al Shabaab militant.

Somalia, which is located on the Horn of Africa, is one of the most lawless countries in the world. Chaos and tribal conflicts have plagued the country for the past two decades. The country also suffers from a humanitarian crisis in which 35 to 40 percent of the population depends on external assistance, according to the United Nations. Also, about 1.2 million Somalis are displaced because of fighting and droughts.

The U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia said recently that assistance for Somalia this year is predicted to be between $300 to $400 million worth, down from $650 million last year.

“[W]e have critical gaps in assistance in some of the key areas where people need help,” said U.N. official Mark Bowden to China’s Xinhua news agency.

Despite the critical need, al Shabaad in August expelled three Christian humanitarian agencies. The Islamic insurgency group accused World Vision, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and Diakonia of using humanitarian work as a guise for spreading the Gospel.

The Christian organizations all denied the allegations and have temporarily suspended their operations.

Al Shabaad has also reportedly declared war on the United Nations and other Western non-governmental organizations that distribute aid in Somalia.

An estimated 4 million Somalis depend on humanitarian assistance to survive, according to the United Nations.

Somalia’s population is nearly all Sunni Muslim.

For more information about the persecution Christians face in Somalia, please click here.

Pray for kidnapped hostages in Yemen

It can become far too easy, as time goes on, to forget the names and faces of our persecuted brothers and sisters we have prayed for in the past. This week, an update from Middle East Concern thankfully returned my attention to the kidnapped foreigners in Yemen who remain missing.

In your prayers today and in the coming weeks, please do pray for the hostages who remain missing and for those who have been returned to their families.

In recent months we have requested prayer following the kidnapping on Friday 12^th June 2009 of nine foreigners in Saada, north-west Yemen, three of whom were murdered shortly afterwards. Recall that two were freed unharmed on 17^th May.

There continues to be no news of Johannes and Sabine (a German couple), Simon (their son, aged 2) or of Tony (a British man). Lydia and Anna (5 and 4, daughters of Johannes and Sabine) who were freed in May are with relatives in Germany.

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started on Wednesday. Therefore, Johannes, Sabine and Tony (assuming they are alive) will probably be forced to fast during daylight hours, which are approximately 4:15 am to 6:30 pm in northern Yemen.

Christians in Yemen thank us for our prayers and request our continued intercession. Please pray that:

1. The missing four (assuming they are alive) will know the peace, presence and daily provision of Jesus and will be released unharmed shortly

2. They will lack nothing during Ramadan

3. Efforts by those seeking to secure their release will be successful

4. Lydia, Anna and their relatives will know the presence and peace of Jesus

5. The families and colleagues of those missing and murdered will know the peace of Jesus amidst continuing speculation and uncertainty

6. All expatriate Christians in Yemen will know the Lord’s guiding and protecting at this time

7. The perpetrators will be convicted by the Spirit and drawn to the forgiveness, love and true life offered by Jesus.

This week in Church history: James Abbes burned in Bury, England

James Abbes stripped off his clothes and shoes. Where he was going in a few minutes, he would not need them--new and glorious garments would be his. But here on earth, some poor folk might find his old garments helpful.

The crowd had come to see one of the burnings that were all too common in the sixteenth century. They would not be disappointed. And they heard words of encouragement, too. As James moved toward the stake, he urged the bystanders to cling to the truth and to seal the cause of Christ with their blood if need be--just as he was now doing. The young man seemed completely confident.

One of the sheriff's servants was cut to his heart by this talk. He cursed James' faith, calling it heresy and he mocked James as a madman. To England's ruling elite as well as to the sheriff's servant, James was a heretic. He held Reformation views during the reign of Queen Mary Tudor of England.

Earlier, when the bishop of Norwich learned of James' "heresy," he ordered him arrested. James wandered about to escape capture, but an informant turned him in. The bishop of Norwich convinced James to recant and gave him a piece of money to seal the bargain.

The money burned the young man's conscience. Although he knew it meant a cruel death, he came back to the bishop and threw down the coin, saying he had been wrong to accept it.

The bishop attempted to talk James out of the stand he was taking; but this time, there was no swaying him. He was given a mock trial and condemned to be burned.

… On August 2, 1555 the sheriff's men fastened James to a stake at Bury, England. As the fire was lit, he praised and glorified God. The flame rose around his body.

At that moment, according to John Foxe's account, the servant who had mocked James and called him mad went mad himself. Imitating James, he ripped off his clothes and shoes in front of the people, exclaiming, "Thus did James Abbes, the true servant of God, who is saved but I am damned." He repeated this line again and again.

Then, as Foxe tells it, "The sheriff had him secured, and made him put his clothes on, but no sooner was he alone, than he tore them off, and exclaimed as before. Being tied in a cart, he was conveyed to his master's house, and in about half a year he died..."

(Source: www.Christianity.com)