~The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert~

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

~The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert~

The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada

Thursday, July 26, 2012

"We don't pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind of Christians God means us to be; Christ-like Christians; that is, Christians who will bear willingly the cross for God's glory."

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In this week's edition: reports from Iran, India and Azerbaijan.
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1. Believers in Iran released from prison
(Source: Mohabat News)

Two Christians in Iran who endured many months in prison, including significant amounts of time spent in solitary confinement, have been released.

Noorollah Qabitizse, 48, a house church leader arrested on Christmas Eve 2010, was released after being imprisoned almost 19 months. He had been arrested in a raid on a house church, along with 10 other Christian converts who had gathered to celebrate. Noorollah was interrogated numerous times and suffered mental abuse as authorities tried to force him to denounce his faith.

Another Christian convert, university student Ehsan Behrouz, was finally freed after spending 105 days in solitary confinement during his eight months of imprisonment. Ehsan was arrested in October of 2011. The 24-year-old, who was studying management at the University of Mashhad, has not been able to return to his classes and his education is at risk. In the past, other Christian students have been sentenced to deprivation of education.

Praise God that these believers have been released and that the prayers of many have been answered. Please pray that other Christian brothers and sisters wrongfully imprisoned will be freed in God's timing. Pray that they will remain faithful to God and be a bold witness for Christ during their time in prison. Pray that young Christians will be able to pursue their studies and will use their gifts to bring great glory to God.

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2. Trio of anti-Christian attacks in India
(Source: Asia News)

Christians were attacked in three different states in India on July 15.

In the village of Sainagara in Karnataka, Pastor Nathaniel Shubas of Immanuel Pentecostal Prayer Hall was beaten by more than 20 Hindu activists. The attackers beat and insulted him, dragging him for more than one kilometre to the Vidyanagara police station where they accused him forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. The officers arrested the pastor and charged him with "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."

In the second attack in the tribal village of Thavalpada in Maharashtra, about 50 Christians who were singing devotional songs were attacked by approximately 10 Hindus led by the local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu ultra-nationalist party. Unlike in Karnataka, the police arrested the attackers.

In the third attack in Dabar Patli village in Haryana, Hindus demolished a church building under construction, arguing that most of the villagers were opposed to the building.

Please pray for a quick and complete healing for Pastor Nathanial. Pray that those who falsely accuse believers of forcible conversion will see that salvation is a free gift, not coercion, and respond in faith to Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). Please pray that the church in Dabar Patli will be rebuilt and that its members will lead many to Christ. Pray that Christians in India will be representatives of Christ's love and grace to their persecutors.

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3. More restrictions on religious materials in Azerbaijan
(Source: Forum 18 News Service)

Azerbaijan's parliament has passed an amendment that says religious materials must have a state-issued verification mark before they can be sold. Those selling religious materials -- literature in electronic or hard copy form as well as audio and video products -- without the verification mark may face fines and confiscation of the materials.

The amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences create a new Article which punishes those who sell products without verification. What is perhaps even more troubling to Christians in the country is that the amendments also allow authorities to confiscate the entire stock of unmarked products. A spokesperson for the Tax Ministry insisted that the provisions were created to ensure that tax is paid on commercial production of literature.

Religious literature already undergoes compulsory censorship from the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations. All religious literature must be approved by the State Committee, which dictates the number of copies that may be printed or imported, checks the contents of shops selling religious literature, and maintains a list of banned religious literature which the Expertise Department -- which is responsible for the list -- will not make public. Compulsory licenses for shops selling religious literature were introduced in May 2009.

Please pray that the gospel message will continue to spread throughout Azerbaijan despite attempts to restrict religious materials. Pray that those in authority will come to Christ and will respect religious freedom for all. Pray that Christians in Azerbaijan will rejoice in the opportunity to grow in Christlikeness through the ongoing opposition they face (James 1:2-4).

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