MALAYSIAN OFFICIALS RELEASE 2 AMERICANS ACCUSED OF PROSELYTIZING

ARSONISTS DESTROY OFFICES OF RELIEF MINISTRY BASED IN SCOTLAND

CHRISTIAN CONVERT LOCKED INTO MENTAL HOSPITAL IN EGYPT

INDEPENDENT CONGREGATIONS IN BELARUS FACE ‘ACUTE RESTRICTIONS’

Today’s News Stories:

MALAYSIAN OFFICIALS RELEASE 2 AMERICANS ACCUSED OF PROSELYTIZING After 10 days in a Malaysian prison, American co-workers Ricky Rupert and Zachary Harris from Strategic World Impact (SWI) have been released. The two men were arrested on Monday, April 25, in the capital city of Putra Jaya after the imam of a nearby mosque accused the pair of proselytizing. The accusation fell within Malaysia’s criminal code prohibiting actions causing “disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing . . . the maintenance of harmony or unity on grounds of religion.” If convicted, the pair could have been jailed for two to five years. Rupert said in an SWI press release that he and his partner were handing out gospels of Luke and John to all who wanted one. “We believe this message we were sharing with them is far more important than our freedom and even our lives,” Rupert explained. They were arrested outside of a restaurant an hour later. The two men continued to witness even after their arrest, sharing their faith with their arresting officers, interrogators and cellmates, leading some to Christ. When Rupert was moved away from the other prisoners to stop him from sharing his faith with them, they shouted to hear each other. One prisoner whom Rupert couldn’t see yelled, “I believe . . . and I will follow!” (Mission Network News/Assist News Service)

ARSONISTS DESTROY OFFICES OF RELIEF MINISTRY BASED IN SCOTLAND A fire in the early-morning hours of Saturday morning, May 14, destroyed the European support headquarters of Adopt-a-Child in Inverness, Scotland. Police said four drunken teenagers were seen driving away from the scene of the blaze, started by igniting a waste container at the rear of the premises. The ministry provides food aid to about 10,000 children at feeding centers in Guatemala and Albania. International Sponsorship Coordinator Paul Cocking said he was contacted by the local fire brigade at 4 a.m. and told that his offices were on fire. “There was nothing to be done, apart from praying,” he said. Cocking hopes some of the ministry’s paperwork can be salvaged, but the building appears to be a total loss. “Fortunately, our American head office and the administration centers in Guatemala and Albania can continue to meet the needs of our sponsored children,” Cocking said. (Assist News Service)

CHRISTIAN CONVERT LOCKED INTO MENTAL HOSPITAL IN EGYPT An Egyptian convert to Christianity is being held in a Cairo mental hospital where supervising doctors have told him he will stay until he recants his faith and returns to Islam. Gaser Mohammed Mahmoud, 30, was committed to the El-Khanka Hospital in early January by his adoptive parents after they learned he had become a Christian two years earlier. The hospital medical committee placed Mahmoud under the care of a female physician whom local sources described only as a “fanatic Muslim.” Since his forced confinement, Mahmoud has reportedly endured beatings, whippings and potentially fatal injections. (Compass)

INDEPENDENT CONGREGATIONS IN BELARUS FACE ‘ACUTE RESTRICTIONS’ Religious communities that choose to function independently face particularly acute restrictions in the Eastern European country of Belarus. Without registration, churches are not able to function and can be barred from renting anywhere to meet legally. One independent Baptist church in the capital city of Minsk was forced to go underground after being refused registration. The pastor was told it the church could obtain registration if it joined the Baptist Union. One Messianic Jewish congregation finally gained registration in March, but only after it joined the Baptist Union and changed its name so that its Messianic Jewish affiliation was no longer obvious. “We had to be flexible,” said Pastor Nikolai Khaskin. (Forum 18 News Service)

Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Editor’s Note. Feel free to forward this to any interested friends. Our lists are distributed for information purposes and to encourage prayer. HCJB World Radio does not necessarily endorse or support the activities on which it reports.