The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert

The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada

Thursday, September 8, 2011

"You never know how much you really believe anything
until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you."
-- C.S. Lewis
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In this week's edition: reports from Pakistan, Nigeria, Iran, Philippines and Kazakhstan
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1. Two Christians seriously injured for refusing Islam in Pakistan
Source: International Christian Concern

Liaqat Munawar, a Pakistani Christian, reported that his brother Ishfaq Munawar and his friend Naeem Masih were attacked by Pashtun youth in Karachi, Pakistan. Ishfaq and Naeem were travelling home from a church service when they were flagged down by a group of Pashtun youth. The youth questioned their identities and why they were travelling through the town. When they discovered Ishfaq and Naeem were Christians, they told them to recite the Kalma (the Islamic conversion creed) and that this was the only way they would leave the town alive. When they refused to read the Kalma, the Pashtun youth rammed their car into Ishfaq and Naeem, and then proceeded to beat them with iron rods until they were unconscious. The youths suffered a broken jaw, five broken teeth and several other injuries between them.

Pray the Lord will minister to Ishfaq and Naeem to help them overcome this ordeal and make a full and complete recovery. Pray for the Pashtun people that they will come to know Christ. Pray for all believers in Pakistan who follow Christ often at great cost, asking the Lord to give them the strength they need to follow Him and stand firm for the gospel.

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2. Armed Muslim from Niger help kill Christians in Nigeria
Source: Compass Direct

Armed Muslims from Niger entered Nigeria's Kaduna state this month to help Islamists there invade Christian communities, where they killed two Christians, including a 10-year-old boy, area sources said. In the early morning hours of August 21, the armed Muslim group entered Fadiya Bakut village in Bajju district of the Zango-Kataf Local Government Area, and attacked the home of Andrew Allahmagani, the district head in Fadiya, Allahmagani told Compass contacts by telephone. "They moved to the quarters of my brother, where they shot and killed my nephew, Fidelis Ishaku, who was 10 years old, and shot and injured my mother, who is 70." A Christian security guard at the house, 52-year-old Zaman Kaki, was killed in the attack by about 10 assailants armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, Allahmagani said. The slain boy's grandmother, Laraba Ishaku, was wounded but received treatment.

Jonathan Asake, a former member of Nigeria's National Assembly, confirmed the attack, as did Kaduna State Police Spokesman Aminu Lawal, who said one of the assailants has been arrested. "It is true that a security guard was killed, and a small boy was also killed," he said. "The target was not only the Christian community leader but also the Fadiya Bakut community."

Please pray the Lord will bring rest and peace to these two nations. Pray He will frustrate the plans of the enemy. Ask Him to comfort the grieving, praying their comfort in Christ will be more than enough for them (2 Corinthians 1:5).

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3. Believers in Iran must report to prison to serve one-year sentence
Source: Present Truth Ministries

Five Iranian Christians and ministers who were convicted of crimes against the Islamic Order on March 8, 2011 in Shiraz, Iran, have been told to report to prison immediately to serve a one-year prison sentence. According to Jason DeMars of Present Truth Ministries their names are: Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi "Petros" Furutan, Mohammed "William" Belyad, Nazly Belyad, and Parviz Khalaj.

According to DeMars, Nazly is approximately seven months pregnant. "This absolutely breaks our heart. Please pray for these brothers, our sister, and the little baby that is growing inside of her. We ask that you pray for miracles to take place so that she does not have to be in prison," he said.

Please pray the authorities will have mercy on this group of Christians, especially Nazly. Pray they will not despair but instead they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; 12:1-3).


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4. Christian killed in the Philippines
Source: VOM-USA

A Christian man, Clarito dela Cruz, was recently murdered by Muslims in the region of Mindanao in the Philippines. On July 26, a Muslim couple pretending to be husband and wife hired Clarito to drive them to a remote village near the town of Linamon. It is then believed that the couple, likely assisted by a companion, tortured and strangled Clarito with an electrical wire. They also shot him twice and stole his motorbike, which belonged to his father-in-law and was the family's means of earning a living. He leaves behind a wife named Leodel, who is pregnant, and their 3-year-old son. Clarito's parents oversee their church's evangelism program, and his pastor told a VOM worker that Muslims in the area had tried to convert church members to Islam. Muslims attacked Christians in Linamon several years ago, burning homes and stealing livestock.

Pray that Clarito's loved ones will find strength, courage and peace in Christ as they grieve his loss. Pray for special provision for his wife and children as they face life without him. Pray that God will continue to embolden Christians in the Philippines to be imitators of Christ and his steadfast faithfulness at great cost (1 Corinthians 11:1).

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5. Man expelled for preaching in own church in Kazakhstan
Source: Forum 18 News Service

After legal residence in Kazakhstan for 15 years, marriage to a Kazakh citizen and having a two-year-old daughter, Russian citizen Leonid Pan was, in mid-August, denied his application to renew his residence permit because he volunteers to preach in his local Protestant church. The local Internal Policy Department had already refused permission for him to become leader of the church. "How can the Migration Police, without having a Court order, demand that Leonid leave the country?" church members complained to Forum 18. The KNB secret police denied to Forum 18 that it was involved in the expulsion.

Meanwhile, in August, another Baptist was fined nearly five months' official minimum wage for holding an unregistered worship service. State restrictions on religious communities are likely to increase with the new Religion Law amendments, due in Parliament this autumn.

Pray Leonid and his family will be able to remain together. Pray the Lord will grow His church in Kazakhstan in number and in faithfulness, in spite of the current restrictions and the threat of further law amendments. Pray for all those in authority in Kazakhstan.