Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin – No. 244 – Wed 29 Oct 2003

****** PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN IDOP: 9/16 NOVEMBER 2003 ****** * The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church * * For resources and links to national websites – * * http://www.idop.org * *************************************************************

WELCOME to the 79 intercessors who have joined the list this month.

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‘O Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you.’ Jeremiah 32:17

DURING OCTOBER WE HAVE PRAYED ABOUT –

SUDAN: Update – The peace talks in Kenya, aimed at ending 20 years of war and jihad, have been adjourned for Ramadan, and will resume on 30 November. Please continue to pray.

CHINA: Update – Xiao Bi-guang, lawyer for the South China Church, has been charged with ‘subverting the national government’, whilst Zhang Yi-nan (the church historian) is held on suspicion of ‘conspiracy to subvert the national government and socialist system’. His wife, also arrested, has been released. House church Christians continue to be detained and harassed. Twelve Roman Catholic clergymen from the Catholic house church network were arrested at a retreat in the city of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, on 20 October. Also, an unregistered Catholic Church building in the area was demolished. In its efforts to curtail the huge growth in religious activity across China, the government has ordered the state media to actively promote atheism and communism and denounce ‘deviant beliefs’. Praise God for this growth, and pray for religious freedom.

INDONESIA: Update – It has been revealed that Jemaah Islamiah (JI) trained the militants involved in the mid October terror in Central Sulawesi. Indonesian National Police chief Gen. Da’i Bachtiar has labelled it a terror attack and said it would be appropriate to charge the culprits under the new anti-terror laws. Fifteen terror suspects have been arrested and six others, including Muhammadong, the alleged planner of the attacks, have been killed. At least two of the suspects came from Lamongan, East Java, the hometown of convicted Bali bombers Amrozi, Ali Imron and Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas. Groups in Afghanistan are reported to be funding the militants in Poso. Who actually ordered the attack is yet to be uncovered. Keep praying for all to be revealed and for justice to be done, including the release of Rev. Renaldy Damanik.

SRI LANKA: where militant groups have attacked numerous churches in the past month. The situation continues to deteriorate.

PAKISTAN: Please keep praying for protection for Mr Shahbaz Bhatti, one of Pakistan’s most prominent and respected Christian human rights and religious liberty advocates. The government wants to silence his testimony about the persecution of Christians and the presence of terrorism. Reliable sources indicate that his arrest may be imminent – please pray against this injustice.

MORE ISSUES DURING OCTOBER ————————–

EGYPT: CRACKDOWN ON CONVERTS

Since 20 October, the Egyptian police have detained at least 22 Egyptian secret converts from Islam to Christianity. The first family arrested were Yousef and his wife Mariam and their two daughters, Sarah and Marina. Yousef and Mariam have both been beaten in prison and Mariam has also been sexually assaulted. The children have been released to relatives. The police then arrested those who provided Yousef and Mariam with new identity cards, on which their chosen Christian names replaced their former Muslim names. Through torture, the police were able to extract the names of some 100 other converts who secured new ID cards with Christian names.

In a separate case, Ingy Nagy Edwar, a Coptic Christian, is reportedly being held against her will after Muslims kidnapped her a month ago outside Cairo. Authorities are telling her family that she has converted to Islam. There will be court hearing on 1 November when Ingy’s father will press for his parental right to custody of his daughter. Please pray.

IRAQ: TARGETED SECTARIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE

Militant Muslims continue to target Christians and Mandaeans (followers of John the Baptist) in sectarian killings, rapes and kidnappings in Iraq. On 20 October, Danny Isaac and William Cesar, both Assyrian Christians, were shot to death in front of their houses in Al Khardia. In mid October, a group of Muslim men kidnapped Lena Faisal Al-Khamisi (25), a Mandaean woman who works in a hospital in Baghdad. Her whereabouts is unknown. Just days ago, Satar Razi Zaboun, a Mandaean man aged about 50, was shot in Baghdad. These are only the tip of the iceberg. The situation in Iraq is most concerning and particularly dangerous for Christians and Mandaeans. They are very vulnerable as they can be robbed, raped and murdered with impunity. Please pray for God’s intervention, and for their protection and deliverance from evil.

NORTHERN UGANDA: LRA NOT FINISHED YET

The intense spiritual battle continues between the blasphemous terrorist cult militia, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA, led by spirit medium Joseph Kony) and the people of God (local church and intercessors worldwide). Time is certainly running out for the LRA. God is answering prayer, with kidnapped children being rescued and rebels defecting. However on 20 October, desperate LRA rebels were hunting for ‘juju’, charms they believe bring spiritual power. Near Soroti town, they ambushed and killed a man, Michael, with his sons, Moses and Samuel, and collected their organs, to be dried and worn as juju. Please pray for God to bring the LRA to an end. Pray especially for the Church in Northern Uganda as it leads the way in prayer, peace negotiations, refugee care, and rehabilitation.

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