In early June, three Muslim young men on Ramree Island reportedly raped a Rakhine Buddhist woman. After the story was published a mob of angry Rakhines attacked a bus of Muslims in central Rakhine State killing ten. A Karen/ Rakhine Christian worker witnessed these deaths. Riots then broke out across central and Northern Rakhine State killing hundreds, leaving 90,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs). On July 2, three Rohingya women were killed for simply attempting to purchase food at the central market in Sittwe. Leaders of the Rakhine Buddhist Background Believers Movement have been threatened by Rakhine Buddhists for providing aid to their Rohingya Muslim Background friends.
Conflict Background
The Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya's latent religious tensions were aggravated by the successive Burmese Dictators. Crusading Buddhist monks as well as Jihadist Muslims have added to the already explosive situation. In 1982 the Dictators officially denied citizenship to the Rohingya this resulted in another round of Muslim/Buddhist riots and the expulsion into Bangladesh of hundreds of thousands of refugees. Bin Laden claimed to have warriors from Afghanistan to Arakan. Today the 2 million Rohingya are some of the most persecuted people in the world. Nearly half have fled to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Europe and Bangladesh. In Rakhine State many Humanitarian Aid groups like the UNHCR and Doctors without Borders have provided aid primarily to the Rohingya. This perceived imbalance in aid has caused more resentment and tensions. If Rohingya leave Rakhine State they cannot return without significant bribes.
They are also denied movement inside Rakhine State. The Bangladesh government repeated pushes Rohingya back into Burma every time they try to seek refuge. Every time disaster or emergencies have happened in Myanmar we have seen a new surge of multiplication of disciples and churches. Jesus is an expert at turning crucifixion situations into resurrection situations.
1. Pray that the 250 Rakhine House Churches double in the next year. Pray that the Rohingya would find the Promised Land in Jesus, Isa Al Masih, and pray for the protection of hundreds of Rohingya believers currently meeting in several networks.
2. Pray that the 250 Rakhine Churches scattered across Rakhine State would have enough food, shelter, and security. Several Rakhine believers have been killed in the recent clashes between the Rohingya/Rakhine fighting. Pray for the Rohingya as they are one of the most oppressed peoples in the world.
3. Pray for a sister who is the coordinator of 200 church leaders and for a brother who leads hundreds of his Rohingya networks to study the gospel of Luke in their homes
4. Pray that God would provide the children in Rakhine State with an abundant supply of food.
5. Pray for a brother who leads hundreds of his Rohingya networks to study the gospel of Luke in their homes.
6. Pray for unity in the Body of Christ in Rakhine. They have been extremely fragmented at times due to competing for outside resources.
To help provide Emergency Aid to the Current Relief Situation in Rakhine State through the hands of the Rakhine Buddist Background Believers’ Movement and the Rohingya Muslim Background Believer’s network, please donate through www.lastfrontiersinternational.com
“There are both some hopeful things coming out of the North and the ongoing difficulties...
On a positive note, it seems that China is seeking to do more in the way of investment in North Korea which will help the economic situation some… We are also beginning to see some hopeful signs that Kim Jong Un may really be interested in opening up to other foreign investment and creating a more open business environment. If he does follow through on this, it could mean not only a better life for the people but also gradual lessening of repression and restriction as happened in China (although China still has a long way to go.)
On the negative side: The country has beefed up their identity card system to make it easier to control people, especially those who have been involved with activities that the government frowns on. Four North Koreans returned from China were recently executed and a number more put into prison camps.
We also have the increasingly serious drought situation in the North, especially in the main bread basket area of Hwanghae Do where farmers have just about given up on this summer's crops and beggars have been dying of starvation. The drought has even affected the capital where many residents are having difficulty getting water.
It has not been easy for people in China and elsewhere seeking to help those leaving NK in search of food or a better life. Four South Korean activists have been detained in China for a few months now although there are hopeful signs that they may be released. An activist has also recently been arrested in Vietnam as well.
The people of North Korea need your prayers. Please keep praying.”
Many Afghans are very afraid that the Taliban will come back again and where they control areas inside Afghanistan. Pray that this would never happen again. This is an example how brutal they are:
Taliban execute a woman to send Afghans a grim warning of life without the West.
Video of the brutal killing is released on the same day as donors promise 10 billion pounds of aid after troop withdrawal in 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/taliban-execute-woman-to-send-afghans-a-grim-warning-of-life-without-the-west-7923566.htm
An Afghan woman accused of adultery was executed by a purported member of the Taliban as a crowd of about 150 men looked on and cheered in a killing captured in video footage that surfaced at the weekend.
The slaying occurred just an hour’s drive from Kabul and is a grim reminder of the hard-line group’s brutality, under whose rule from 1996 to 2001 women suffered severe privations, including being banned from attending school. It also highlights the expanding presence the Taliban has throughout the country beyond their traditional strongholds in the south and east.
As international troops start to leave in advance of total withdrawal in 2014, concerns are mounting about whether the fledgling Afghan National Security Forces will keep insurgents at bay.
The video, obtained by Reuters, shows a woman in a shawl kneeling in the dirt. A turban-clad man approaches and fires on her at close range with an automatic rifle. Another man is heard saying, “Allah warns us not to get close to adultery because it’s the wrong way. It is the order of Allah that she be executed.”
The woman involved – either by consent or force – with two Taliban commanders was killed in order to settle a dispute between them, according to Parwan’s Provincial Governor Basir Salangi. According to Agence France Presse, the woman was a 22-year-old called Naliba. The fate of the Taliban commanders is not known.
“When I saw this video, I closed my eyes,” Mr. Salangi told Reuters. “The woman was not guilty; the Taliban are guilty.” The footage is thought to have been shot about a week ago. Mr. Salangi added that the Taliban have considerable influence in his province…
“Afghan women and girls were looking to the international community to protect the progress they have made in the last decade, and they have been let down. Some important steps have been taken, notably in a renewed commitment to their constitutional rights and better implementation of laws. But this is still not enough to entrench the fragile gains that have been made so far. There are not enough concrete steps or firm affirmations of how women will play a better role in the transformation phase of their country”.
Please pray for the safeguarding of women and children’s rights and the gains that have been made since the Taliban were overthrown. Pray that they will not be successful in regaining control over the nation to reestablish their tyrannical and oppressive rule.
Student Volunteer Movement II is a global movement focusing on mobilizing 100,000 new workers to the harvest among least-reached peoples from the student generation. The SVM2 Alliance is getting excited about the upcoming “21 Days for Global Harvest” prayer campaign to pursue God for spiritual awakening and global harvest. This campaign will take place from September 30 – October 20, 2012, with the theme “Let My People Go!” based on Exodus 8. Small groups of young adults from student ministries related to campus ministry organizations, Christian colleges/Bible schools and local churches will participate from many nations.
Very few prayer campaigns exist connecting the emerging generation of believers together with one purpose. “21 Days for Global Harvest” targets this age group with a united prayer emphasis for awakening across the student generation and becoming ignited with passion for global harvest.
It is important to have as many student ministries from as many nations involved in this prayer campaign. It is our hope to see 1,000 prayer groups praying for 387 unengaged, unreached people groups during the 21 days.
Would you and your organization or church commit to participating with this prayer campaign as a stakeholder network? This would include the following action steps:
1. Promotion – Among your constituency (Both Para-Church ministries as well as Local Churches and Denominations – the goal is to see prayer groups involved across the spectrum of the body of Christ)
2. Participation – Schedule it on the GDOP Annual Ministry Calendar
3. Partnership – Partner to Make the Prayer Campaign a Success
The “21 Days for Global Harvest” website will include your group as a stakeholder network with the prayer campaign.
An informational graphic email is available to help with promotion. This could be sent on to the group constituency as a means of promoting the campaign. In that email it will also state clearly where to obtain hard copy prayer guides and promotional posters for local churches, student ministries, etc.
To date, other stakeholder networks include International Prayer Council (IPC), IFES-Carribean, International Center for Evangelism, Church Planting & Prayer (ICECAP), Mission-Net Europe, Malaysian Center for Global Missions (MCGM), Latin Link, Moving In Action (MIA)-SA, ForMission-Niger, World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Japan Antioch Mission (JAM), World Mission Prayer League.
I look forward to hearing from you about the possibility of organization or church serving in this important role as a stakeholder network for the “21 Days for Global Harvest” prayer campaign.
Over the last two years, Pakistan has had something of a respite from dramatic attacks such as those that plagued the country from 2007 to 2010. During those years, a series of high-profile and highly disruptive attacks against police, army, and intelligence targets challenged the government’s ability to control the country. The attacks occurred in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, in cities such as Lahore, and in the capital, Islamabad.
While suicide bombings and attacks in Pakistan’s troubled northwest (along the border with Afghanistan) have continued apace since 2010, major attacks in Pakistan’s Punjab-Sindh core have essentially ceased. The sole instance of dramatic violence involving government targets outside of the northwest since 2010 was an attack on a naval station near Karachi following the death of Osama bin Laden. Despite the break from violence in Pakistan’s major cities, many of the same conditions present during the wave of attacks from 2007 to 2010 remain. Another escalation in violence is very possible, especially in Pakistan’s volatile climate and with elections coming up.
Timing of the Attacks
The two attacks (along with numerous other attacks and an attempted assassination) came the week after Pakistan formally reopened NATO supply routes through the country to Afghanistan. The supply routes had been closed for more than seven months after a deadly cross-border attack by U.S. forces in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The day the routs reopened, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan told journalists it would attack trucks carrying NATO supplies in protest.
Bur rather than an impetus for attacks, the reopening of the supply line is more likely a political opportunity for the Pakistani Taliban militants to promote anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. The NATO supply line is one of the most visible products of the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and some political opposition groups have criticized the Pakistani government for helping Washington while the U.S. military conducted strikes killing mostly Pakistanis along the border with Afghanistan. By opposing the NATO supply line, the Pakistani Taliban militants are able to generate popular support across Pakistan…
Right now, Pakistan’s military presence in the country’s northwest is backed only by a feeble government. The lead-up to Pakistan’s elections is an opportunity for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to make its case against internal military deployments. Should Islamabad’s political will shift and the military lose its advantage in the northwest, the militants could continue their campaign in Pakistan’s core, returning to high-profile, disruptive attacks.”
Please pray for the dissolution of the Tehrik-i-Taliban and the end of their terrorist attacks in Pakistan and for God’s peace to reign in the nation.
Iranian Christians thank us for our continued prayer for pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned since October 2009. In September, 2010, the Revolutionary Tribunal of Gilan Province found him guilty of apostasy and sentenced him to death - a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court in July, 2011.
It is understood that pastor Yousef was verbally informed on 4th July that he would face a new trial in September on different charges. This has not been confirmed in writing, and Yousef has not been told of what any new charges would be. If new charges are brought, it is expected (based on the experience of most cases against Christians in Iran in recent months and years) that these would be non-specific political charges, such as "activities against the state" or against state security, rather than religious charges. Yousef has only limited legal support within Iran after a sentence given to his principal lawyer in July, 2011, was upheld in April.
We regret to report that another believer, Farshid, has had a six-year jail sentence confirmed by an appeal court. Farshid was arrested on 26th December, 2010, and formally convicted in April, 2012. In a video released on YouTube in May, a prominent dissident who was held in the same cell as Farshid for some time gave positive testimony about Farshid's attitude, conduct, and service in prison, and the esteem in which he is held by fellow prisoners.
Other believers remain detained in Iran because of their Christian faith and activities. These include several arrested in raids on fellowships in late May (Hadi and Alireza in Neishabour, Vahid in Mashhad, Mehrdad in Tehran) and several arrested during similar raids in February (including a group of five in Shiraz and at least three in Kermanshah).
Iranian Christians rejoice that Yousef’s life has been spared thus far. They request our continued intercession that:
1. Yousef’s death sentence will be revoked, his conviction overturned, and any further charges against him dropped
2. Yousef, his wife, Fatemeh, and their two sons will know the comfort, presence, and hope of Jesus, and that the family will be reunited soon
3. All believers in Iran facing trials because of their faith will know the Spirit’s guiding wisdom
4. Farshid and other believers serving jail sentences will know the presence and peace of Jesus, remain strong in their faith, and clear in their testimony and witness
5. Christians throughout Iran will not be intimidated but will know the Lord’s enabling and guidance
6. All officials involved will love mercy, act justly, learn about Jesus, and choose to follow Him
“Syrian Christians have requested our prayers concerning the continuing violence in their country. Thousands of Syrians, including large numbers of Christians, have fled from their homes, especially in the Homs and Hama governorates and more recently Damascus and Aleppo. There have been reports of the targeting of Christians by both government and opposition sides.
Several prominent Syrian Christians have been killed recently, including Defence Minister General Dawoud Rajha (assassinated in an attack on the National Security Offices in Damascus on 18th July) and Brigader-General Nabil Zougheib (assassinated along with his wife and son at their home in a Christian neighbourhood of Damascus on 21st July).
Most Church leaders point out that any such targeting is not religiously motivated but is either politically motivated or is criminal activity for economic gain. Many Christians fear that radical Islamist groups are becoming more influential, and that this may lead to increased hostility towards Christians and other minorities. They fear that they may become more vulnerable to criminal activity, including kidnapping-for-ransom incidents.
Throughout the ongoing unrest, Syrian Christians have faced a dilemma of allegiance. They regard the current regime as having been a protector for many years and fear that any replacement regime is likely to prove more hostile. Yet along with others in Syria, they know that open allegiance to either the government or to the opposition could bring retaliation from the other side.
Syrian Christians request our prayers that:
a. Christians will know the protection of the Father, the inner peace of Jesus, and the daily guidance of the Spirit
b. Church leaders will know the Spirit’s guidance concerning public worship and private pastoral support of their congregations
c. The bereaved, wounded, and traumatized will know the comfort, presence, and healing touch of Jesus
d. There will be an end to violence by all parties and that a just resolution and constructive reform will follow
e. Many will know the love and forgiveness of Jesus
f. In the long term, there will be greater religious freedom for all citizens.”
“The head of Britain’s intelligence service, M16, said this week that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon by 2014 at the latest and predicted Israel will likely strike before the Iranians acquire “all the technologies they need.” Sir John Sawers said it is “equally clear that Israel and the United States would face huge dangers if Iran were to become a nuclear weapon state.
With the U.S. increasing its military forces in the Persian Gulf and Iran’s foreign minister opening warning that if sanctions are fully enforced, his nation will close the Strait of Hormuz and choke one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, many are asking, “Is a war with Iran imminent?”
Some experts believe the Israeli military may strike Iran soon and that the “window” is closing for Israel to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
The threat of an escalation is real. And if Iran is struck, what would this do to the price of oil, the world economy, and the stock market?
And would Iran retaliate against Israel and the U.S.? In the past few days, the New York Times reported: “The United States has quietly moved significant military reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates.”
Iran continues to secretly enrich uranium amid reports that It is pushing forward with its nuclear weapons program, while diplomatic talks to thwart Iran’s program and stop pre-emptive Israeli airstrikes have so far failed.
Please keep this volatile situation in your prayers and pray that Iran will back down in the face of possible attack on their nuclear installations.