Displaying items by tag: Middle East
Christians persecuted in 3 of 4 nations globally
'Have been harassed in more countries than any other religious group'
There are some 197 countries around the world.
And in 144 of them, Christians are persecuted, according to a report commissioned by the British government.
There is widespread evidence showing that “today, Christians constitute by far the most widely persecuted religion,” the report said.
It found that “Christians have been harassed in more countries than any other religious group and have suffered harassment in many of the heavily Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa.”
There are some 245 million Christians living in the top 50 countries for persecution and they suffer “high levels” or worse. Previously, only one country, North Korea, was classified as having “extreme” persecution. Now there are 11 countries.
Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, noted “persecution against Christians and other non-Muslims is not about the ethnicity, race or skin color of either the perpetrators or the victims; it is about their religion.”
In Africa, he said, “various Islamist groups and individuals are attacking and attempting to annihilate Christians for being Christian. If these crimes are not stopped, it is highly likely that the fate of the African Continent will be like that of the Middle East: Once it was a majority-Christian region; now, Christians are a tiny, dying, defenseless minority.”
The British report is the “Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians.”
The FCO is the nation’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The bishop, the Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen, explained: “The Independent Review was announced at Christmas and this Interim Report is published in the Easter season. Both of these great festivals remind us that weakness and vulnerability are at the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ was born into poverty and laid in a feeding-trough. He died as a victim of persecution himself. Given that, it is hardly surprising that many of his followers today count among the weakest and most vulnerable people on the planet. It is to them, to their needs and to their support, that this Interim Report is dedicated.”
He wrote that in addition to Christians being the most targeted, “the evidence suggests that acts of violence and other intimidation against Christians are becoming more widespread.”
The report said that “in some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguable coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide.”
It said the “eradication of Christians and other minorities on pain of ‘the sword’ or other violent means was revealed to be the specific and stated objective of extremist groups in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, northeast Nigeria and the Philippines.”
“An intent to erase all evidence of the Christian presence was made plain by the removal of crosses, the destruction of church buildings and church symbols,” the report said.
“The killing and abduction of clergy represented a direct attack on the church’s structure and leadership. Where these and other incidents meet the tests of genocide, governments will be required to bring perpetrators to justice, aid victims and take preventative measures for the future.”
Christianity, in fact, “now faces the possibility of being wiped out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back further. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent, in Syria the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today.”
In some parts of the world, “extrajudicial killings and the enforced and involuntary disappearance of Christians are also widespread,” the report said.
Bulut cited the destruction of a Christian school by Muslims in Uganda, a church in Niger burned by Muslims and terror attacks in Burkina Faso that left 29 Christians dead.
In one incident, the assailants “asked the Christians to convert to Islam but the pastor and the others refused.”
“They ordered them to gather under a tree and took their Bibles and mobile phones. Then they called them, one after the other, behind the church building where they shot them dead.”
He said that terrorist groups are not the only sources of persecution in Africa as many Muslim governments and individuals also target Christians.
We must pray for our Indian brethren, asking God to preserve the faith in a subcontinent where it is every bit as native as that which seeks to drive it out.
Article by WND
More at:https://www.wnd.com/2019/07/report-christians-persecuted-in-3-of-4-nations-globally/
IRAN: Believers targeted amid US-Iran tensions
Iran (MNN) — Tensions rise between the United States and Iran amid sanctions, threats, and fights over missiles, nuclear deals, oil stores, and shipping routes.
Last week, Iran tested ballistic missiles as the U.S. worked with allies to safeguard ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Middle East Monitor, Russia predicts “full-scale armed conflict” in the region.
Unfortunately, these sky-high political tensions have led to a crackdown within Iran, explains Heart 4 Iran’s Mike Ansari. “In the last few weeks, [the] Iranian government has announced the arrest of multiple Iranian citizens who were allegedly CIA spies,” he says.
“In light of the recent sanctions, Iranian authorities are increasing the pressure on Western governments to loosen up the restrictions imposed on Iran.”
Authorities often target believers for accusation and arrest.
Life for believers inside Iran
Earlier this year, Open Doors USA placed Iran at #9 on its World Watch List – a ranking of 50 nations where following Christ is most difficult. By law, Christians cannot share their faith with non-Christians. Believers from a Muslim background face the most oppression because Islamic law governs Iran; society views converts as apostates.
“In Iran, conversion from Islam to Christianity – known as apostasy – is strictly forbidden. In fact, Iranian religious rulers have publicly advocated for the death penalty as a punishment for apostasy,” Ansari explains.
“When a Muslim converts to Christianity, they are warned, persecuted, [sometimes] arrested, and their belongings are confiscated.”
For converts who leave Iran, return could mean imprisonment and severe persecution. “Case in point – Mrs. Fatemeh Azad, a 58-year-old Iranian convert to Christianity who fled Iran, sought refuge in Germany, but was denied asylum and deported back to Iran,” Ansari describes.
“Upon her return, she was arrested and released on bail.”
As reported here by International Christian Concern:
When Fatemeh made her asylum appeal, her lawyers argued that apostasy (conversion away from Islam) is punishable by the death penalty in Iran. This penalty has not been issued in Iran for several years, in large part thanks to international pressure. However, Iran regularly imprisons converts for years. Christians are commonly charged with “acting against national security” and can face a prison sentence of up to 15 years with this charge.
“The Iranian Christian community in diaspora is concerned with the safety and well-being of Mrs. Azad while she resides in Iran,” Ansari says.
How to help
Mrs. Azad’s case represents a larger challenge, he adds. That’s an urgent matter for which you can pray.
“The real concern for Mrs. Azad is that Iranian authorities may use her as a pawn to not only instil fear in the heart of their own people but challenge the international community on human rights and religious freedom in Iran.”
Ask the Lord to comfort and encourage Fatemeh Azad during her imprisonment. Pray for her safety, Ansari requests, and “pray for the multitude of Iranian refugees who have legitimately fled Iran and can’t go back.”
Heart4Iran partners with over 100 groups to bring the love and hope of Jesus Christ to the people of Iran.
Reporting by Katey Hearth for Mission Network News
More at: https://www.mnnonline.org/news/believers-targeted-amid-us-iran-tensions/
Pray: For the safety and freedom of Mrs. Fatemeh Azad and many others in a similar situation to practice their faith.
Pray: That she will not be used as a pawn within Iran or internationally.
Pray: For those working to represent Mrs Azad and other Christians who face persecution in their home countries.
Israel: Iran recruiting spies via social media
IRAN: Trump Prepared To Talk To Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is prepared to talk to Iran but that there was always a chance of U.S. military action against Tehran.
"So Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office," Trump who is on a state visit to Britain, told ITV television on June 5. "They were a terrorist nation number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today."
Asked if he thought military action might be needed, he said: "There's always a chance. Do I want to? No. I'd rather not. But there's always a chance."
He said, when asked, that he was prepared to talk to Iranian President Rohani: "Yeah of course. I would much rather talk."
Trump's comments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.
Washington a year ago withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran that curbed the country's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
Trump argued that the terms on the accord were not tough enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and did not address the country's missile program or its support for militants in the region.
Since then, Washington has re-imposed sanctions, stepped up its rhetoric, and beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, citing " imminent threats" from Iran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on June 5 that Tehran would not be "deceived" by Trump’s offer of negotiations and would not give up its missile program.
"This political trick will not deceive Iranian officials and the Iranian nation," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on Iranian television.
Pray: for an end to the escalating tensions.
Pray: that Iran does not develop nuclear capability and adheres to its previous agreement.
Pray: that peace prevails and for a negotiated resolution to the crisis to be achieved.
Lebanon: families who lost everything
Four brothers and their families in a wealthy Syrian suburb lost homes, cars, and belongings through shelling. They moved to the relative safety of a new city, sharing just one apartment (16 children, parents, and grandparents). The inflated rent has to be paid on a daily basis. Their vulnerability and poverty were difficult to adjust to. Family members suffered stress-related ailments, including ulcers. A pastor coordinating a Lebanese relief project visited them and asked what they needed. They said they wanted to be treated like humans not animals. One said his brain had stopped and he couldn’t think ahead: ‘How can I rebuild my life, when I now have no home and no money?' The pastor said there is hope, because Jesus gives us hope. He prayed with the sick family members. Since that visit, the family has received some food assistance through the church, and a few of them are attending Bible study sessions.
Syria: oil shortages and pipeline sabotage
Five underwater pipelines off Syria’s coast were sabotaged on 22-23 June. No group claimed responsibility for this ‘terrorist attack’. Syria has been beset by fuel shortages since the EU, UN and US imposed sanctions and asset freezes on certain individuals in response to atrocities carried out by the regime. Since April, private car owners have had to queue at petrol stations after being restricted to twenty litres of fuel every five days. Iran was supplying 1 to 3 million barrels a month, but after Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal the US has tightened energy sanctions to push Iran’s crude exports to zero. However, tanker-tracking firms believe Iran delivered a million barrels of crude oil recently.
Church learning to love enemies
‘It was as if God had prepared us for this,’ said Pastor Hikmat Kashouh of his congregation. He is recalling the time when over a million Syrian refugees started pouring into Lebanon, fleeing civil war. Resurrection Church, Beirut had already built strong connections with local Syrian workers. But what the church was less prepared for was the radical transformation it would take to welcome former enemies as equal members of their church family. From an unremarkable congregation of ninety people to one that welcomes 1,300 people and broadcasts to thousands across the Arab world via SAT-7, Resurrection Church has experienced a great transformation in the last ten years among Arabs, Kurds, and Muslim converts. To read the inspiring story of conversions, click the ‘More’ button.
Saudi Arabia to execute three Muslim scholars after Ramadan
There has been much discussion circulating about the authenticity of the three “moderate scholars” who were promoted as such by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Much feedback also came in from Jihad Watchers. Referencing al-Qouda as “moderate” drew the concern of many. For this reason, a profile of the two most controversial scholars: Sheikh Salman al-Ouda and Awad al-Qarni is included in this update.
News of the three men facing execution leaves many questions unanswered about the real reason Saudi Arabia is planning to execute them, particularly as there no freedom of speech and no freedom of the press in Saudi Arabia. As indicated below, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is unconvincing about his quest for modernized reform as the kingdom continues to embrace and spread Wahhabi ideology and persecute its authentic human rights activists—including the well known Raif Badawi and his sister Samar .
The most notorious of the three men slated for execution is Salman Al-Odah. This is his troubling jihadist profile and reported “change” to moderacy:
Salman Al-Odah was a known inciter of jihad terror and once referred to the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as “brother”. He was also “infamous for his 1990s sermons ‘Come for Jihad’ and ‘The Industry of Death’ “and for his sermons which were spread throughout Saudi Arabia and beyond. He issued calls for his followers to perform “jihad in Afghanistan, Iraq and other occupied Muslim lands.” In 2012, Al-Odah was quoted by MEMRI as saying: “Jews use human blood for passover matzos”.
According to Arab News, Al-Odah is characterized as a “chameleon cleric”. He reportedly “took a sharp turn at the end of the decade to become a voice of the Islamic Awakening (Al-Sahwa) movement”, and lauded for his “comparatively progressive views in the Islamic world on Sharia and homosexuality.” On the 6th anniversary of 9-11, Arab News quoted him as saying openly on a TV show:
“My brother Osama, how much blood has been spilled? How many innocent people, children, elderly and women have been killed … in the name of Al-Qaeda? Will you be happy to meet God Almighty carrying the burden of these hundreds of thousands or millions of victims on your back?”
Yet, he was still banned as a hate preacher from Denmark in 2017.
Ayed Al-Qarni
Arab News reported that the wildly popular Qarni “with 19 million Twitter followers, was banned from preaching in the 1990s and arrested over his views, but later adopted pro-government stances.” Here one can note an oddity. Saudi Arabia has been noted for its spread of salafi ideology so what was it specifically about Qarni’s views that drew the ire of the Saudi kingdom? Arab News corroborated a Gulf News report that Al-Qarni issued an apology “for his hardline interpretations of Islam and called for a more modernised Islam”, and also expressed his commitment to Mohammed bin Salman.
It is interesting to also note that Al-Qarni was scheduled to do a speaking engagement with Tariq Ramadan in December 2015, the latter who is a Muslim Brotherhood promoting, disgraced accused rapist who is funded handsomely by Qatar. But according to the Center for Security Policy, the Muslim Brotherhood political action group that hosted them “suffered a setback… when Saudi cleric Sheikh Ayed al-Qarni was denied entry into the United States.”
It would seem to be that there is much more to the executions of these men than is being revealed. One thing can be certain: dirty politics and Wahhabi oppression are features of Saudi Arabia whether or not any of these men are now “moderate”.
“Three moderate scholars will reportedly be executed in Saudi Arabia after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The three men – Sheikh Salman al-Ouda, Awad al-Qarni and Ali al-Omari – are being held on multiple charges of terrorism.” Terrorism is the word used by jihad-sponsoring countries to cover up their misdeeds against anyone who opposes them. Amnesty International identified the men as “peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly”. They were not terrorists but opposing the Saudi regime’s oppressive sharia abuses. The Saudis executed 37 of its citizens for so-called “terrorism offences” last month.
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced that he will “return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam” last year. There has never been a ‘moderate’ normative Islam in 1400 years to begin with, so his use of the term “return” is fallacious. Despite bin Salman’s appearance of good will, Saudi Arabia has been persecuting Koranists, cracking down on any efforts toward modernizing, jailing women for human rights advocacy and it continues to promote Wahhabi ideology globally. Saudi Arabia was also discovered to be auctioning off Yazidi sex slaves, who were captured by the Islamic State. And when it comes to the barbaric practice of beheadings, the Islamic State has nothing over Saudi Arabia. Claiming efforts to modernize Islam in Saudi Arabia is merely a front.
They will be convicted and executed after the end of Ramadan next month, the Middle East Eye reports, citing two government sources and one of the men’s relatives.
Saudi authorities have not commented on the report.
Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said he could not confirm the report, but told The Independent: “What I can say is that Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against these men merely for their alleged peaceful political affiliations and opinions.”
He added: “We see this as a clear departure from past practice and an indication of just how much the repression level has increased since MBS [Mohammed bin Salman] became crown prince nearly two years ago.”
Mr Odah, who is known for his comparatively progressive views on Sharia (Islamic law) and homosexuality, was arrested in September 2017 after tweeting a prayer calling for reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar after Riyadh launched a blockade against the emirate.
Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Gulf researcher, told The Independent: “The Saudi Public Prosecution’s recurring calls for the death penalty in the case of a number of individuals being held for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression – including Sheikh Salman al-Ouda – raises real alarms for the fate of detained activists and religious clerics in the country.
“We’re calling on the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately release those detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and to drop any charges against them.”
Pray: for an end to the oppressive treatment of these innocent, peaceful people.
Pray: for a change of heart on the part of the Saudi government.
Pray: that the human rights of these and other unjustly imprisoned individuals will be respected.
More at: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/05/saudi-arabia-to-execute-three-muslim-scholars-after-ramadan
MAY 25, 2019 2:40 PM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
Asia and Africa: change and conflict
In Algeria and Sudan, peaceful protesters are continuing to demand genuine change, but the military - the most powerful institution in both countries - resist the calls. Both countries know that ousting an authoritarian leader is no guarantee of reform. In each case, Christian communities have added their voices to the calls for greater democracy and transparency. In the Holy Land, recent violence saw Islamic militants from Gaza launch 600+ rockets into Israel, and Israel responding with a heavy bombardment. Both sides eventually agreed a ceasefire, which is currently holding, but the UN envoy to the Middle East warned on 13 May that the risk of another war ‘remains imminent’. Half the Christian population has returned to Iraq following the collapse of IS, but they are returning to broken towns and Iran-backed militias in the Nineveh area. The search for peace, good governance, fairness, justice and dignity continues.
Bahrain: Trump’s summit (25-26 June)
Donald Trump’s ‘Peace to Prosperity’ summit in Bahrain will mark the first phase of the roll-out of US plans for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But a Palestinian Authority spokesman has said that they will not be sending a representative. Some reports indicate that private Palestinian representatives will attend. Bahrain and the United States are hosting the economic leadership ‘workshop’ to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanise support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by the upcoming US peace agreement. Although the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are sending delegations to participate, the spokesman said that any Palestinian who takes part will be nothing but a collaborator for the Americans and Israel.