AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * MIDDLE EAST CRISIS – THIS WEEK’S PRAYER POINTS * FLEEING CHRISTIANS DENOUNCE HEZBOLLAH * NEW BREEDING GROUND FOR MUSLIM TERRORISM – KEEP WATCH ON SOMALIA * WASHINGTON EXPERIENCES DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN MURDERS DURING WEEK OF PRAYER * GREAT COMMISSION CONFERENCE ACCELERATES EFFORTS TO REACH THE LEAST-REACHED * CUBA FACES A TIME OF POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY

———————————————– MIDDLE EAST CRISIS – THIS WEEK’S PRAYER POINTS

1. Pray that the Lord will spare the lives of as many children, women and men as possible whilst a ceasefire is negotiated.

2. Pray for a spiritual victory over the powers of violence and wickedness throughout the Middle East region.

3. Pray that humanitarian aid will be promptly and efficiently provided to all in need and that those administering the aid to Israeli Jews and Arabs, and the more than half-million refugees in Lebanon, would be loving messengers of Jesus / Yeshua.

4. For political diplomacy to find a workable solution in the current crisis that will restore and maintain the integrity of existing borders.

5. That in the severity of the conflict and suffering the Lord will grant revelation of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah to multitudes, and will grant grace and courage for these to profess Christ as Lord.

6. That the Lord will raise up clear biblical voices and “spiritual statesmen” in the midst of the chaotic media reporting, and among heads of state and “all in authority.” (1 Tim 2:2)

Source: Australian Prayer Network

———————————————– FLEEING CHRISTIANS DENOUNCE HEZBOLLAH

Many Christians fleeing Lebanon are denouncing Hezbollah. “Hezbollah came to Ain Ebel to shoot its rockets,” Fayad Hanna Amar, a young Christian man, is quoted as saying, referring to his village. “They are shooting from between our houses. Please, write that in your newspaper.” Many Christians from Ramesh and Ain Ebel considered Hezbollah’s fighting methods as much of an outrage as the Israeli strikes. The village of Ain Ebel is largely Christian but has Muslim pockets.

Lebanon is a country of many faces. In a society of large Muslim (both Shia and Sunni), Christian and Druze minorities, it does not speak with one voice.

The contrast between Beirut’s Muslim dominated southern suburbs and the Christian town of Bikfaya nestled high in the mountains behind the city is stark. Beirut’s southern suburbs are home to about 500,000 Shia Muslims. The streets lie empty. Israeli bombing has killed or chased the life out of the area. Bikfaya is a different story. The town is home to about 20,000 Christians and it is untouched by Israeli bombing. Residents can be seen out on the streets.

But Hezbollah’s cross-border raid into Israel, in which it captured two soldiers, widened the gap between the Shia suburbs and this town. Since the attack, Israel has bombed much of the country’s infrastructure – Beirut’s airport, ports and main roads – and killed more than 300 Lebanese civilians and militants. Beirut’s southern suburbs are a stronghold for the militant Islamic organisation and many of the residents – even those who have been forced to leave their homes – support the group’s actions. There are however many other Muslims both Shia and Sunni who have been critical of the group.

Many of the residents of Bikfaya make their living out of tourism – renting out houses, and running restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops. What was lining up to be a bumper tourist season now lies in tatters as tourists flee the country. “The only people that come in here are those wanting passport photographs to leave,” said a camera shop owner in the town who would only give his name as Basim. “I blame Hezbollah for our current troubles,” he added. “We’re paying a high price for Hezbollah’s actions. This war is not of our choosing; it’s not of the Lebanese government’s choosing; it’s all down to Hezbollah. I think 95% of the people in this town would agree with me.”

Talking about politics – particularly along religious lines – is a delicate subject in this country. Memories of the civil war that engulfed Lebanon for 15 years are still fresh. But Samuel Kharrat, a church minister in Bikfaya, said that most of the residents would agree that the future looked bleaker. This is a Christian town and many of the residents aren’t happy about theMuslims coming here.

Following the bombing, hundreds of Lebanese citizens, some of them from the southern suburbs, are seeking refuge in the town. But one woman who would only give her name as Jessica said many of the refugees were not welcome. “This is a Christian town and many of the residents aren’t happy about the Muslims coming here. If a big group of Christians went to a Muslim town they probably wouldn’t be welcome either.”

Meanwhile in northern Israel, thousands of Israeli families have taken cover in bomb shelters to escape the Hezbollah’s Katushya rockets. Samaritan’s Purse is helping provide food parcels to hungry Israelis living in the shelters. The Israeli government has one of the world’s most advanced emergency response systems and accepts very little international aid.

Source: The New York Times

———————————————– NEW BREEDING GROUND FOR MUSLIM TERRORISM – KEEP WATCH ON SOMALIA

Finally the warlords of Mogadishu and southern Somalia have been subdued, bringing peace to the ravaged area for the first time in 15 years. The Islamic Courts Union, a popular uprising built around traditional Islamic Sharia courts and financed by fed-up businessmen, collected the warlords’ guns and rounded up their battlewagons. “In 15 years, no one was able to do what they did in 15 days,” says U.N. official Saverio Bertolino.

But Somalia’s troubles are far from over. Instead of warlords now, Somalis have what many are calling an African version of the Taliban, bent not only on imposing a harsh, Wahhabi-style form of Islam on the country but allegedly also providing a safe haven for international terrorists. Movies and music have been banned; open-air video parlours shut down.

Recently the group appointed a consultative council as its supreme spiritual and policy-setting body, appointing as its leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is on the U.S. terrorist watch list for his connection to a Somali militant group. Aweys insisted the group was interested only in opposing Ethiopia, which recently moved its troops across the border, warning the Islamists against taking complete control of Somalia.

Explaining the Islamists’ crackdown on non-Islamic culture, Aweys said that Somalis, as Muslims, “have to choose the way our people want to go or learn … Television, for instance, misleads the people and teaches them bad character and a culture from some other countries that we don’t share. We know what leads our people astray.”

An Islamic Courts Union propaganda video called “Punishment of the Converts” shows the Somali Islamists training, interspersed with speeches from several leading military figures. The dialogue is frankly Pan-Islamic and pro-terrorist; the voice-over features Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

“Mogadishu is the Afghanistan of the Muslims now,” says one masked Somali fighter. “Every Muslim who is victimized in the world, we are calling him to come here,” says the fighter. “It will be a safe haven for him.” The Islamic militias’ internal newspaper, Al Jihaad, puts it bluntly: Terrorism is Compulsory, reads a July 3 headline. The article went on to say that terrorism, extremism and fundamentalism are part of Islam and good.

Aweys has praised bin Laden comparing him to Nelson Mandela in that “South Africans said that Mandela was a terrorist and his people know him as a hero.” He also justified Al Qaeda’s attacks on the World Trade Centre. “Since Osama was fighting against his enemy, he could use any tactic he had available to him,” he said. “It is not compulsory to think as the Americans want us to think.”

Despite Awey’s stated views, many observers give the Courts the benefit of the doubt. “Most of us in the international and relief community do not see them as a new Taliban,” says World Food Program country director Zlatan Milisic. “There may be extremists among them, but overall they’re providing relief for suffering people.” The Courts’ leadership has urged moderation on their followers, after an initial crackdown on public morals. There was an early spate of harsh punishments, including chopping off the hands of thieves and even the sanctioned execution of a murderer by his victim’s son. But that’s all either ended now or gone under wraps.

To people in Mogadishu, the fact that the Taliban too took power in Afghanistan with promises of moderation is another world away. Right now they are enjoying the end of a long war. There could be a hidden agenda, but it doesn’t matter. Ideology is a luxury most Somalis cannot afford.

Source: BBC News

———————————————– WASHINGTON EXPERIENCES DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN MURDERS DURING WEEK OF PRAYER There was only one murder in Washington, D.C., from July 21 to July 26, while around the clock prayer vigils were being held. 14 murders were committed in Washington, D.C. during the first 13 days of July prompting city officials to declare a “crime emergency”. The Christian Defence Coalition sponsored six days of around the clock prayer vigils under a large tent on the National Mall, from July 21 to July 26, seeking God to reduce the crime rate in the nation’s capital over the next six months.

The Christian Defence Coalition encourages the faith community around the country to sponsor prayer vigils in areas with high crime rates. Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defence Coalition, comments, “It is important to remember during times of crisis, challenge and adversity Americans should always turn to God in prayer. We are thankful that during our prayer vigils on the National Mall innocent life was protected in Washington, D.C. Our hope and prayer is that we will now see areduction in crime, in our nation’s capital, over the next six months.

Through the years, prayer has changed the course of history and helped reduce human suffering around the world. We encourage the faith community to step out of the safety of their comfort zones and move boldly into the public square in response to pressing social concerns. God has called Christians to engage culture–not to run from it” Rev Mahoney said.

Source: Christian News Wires

———————————————– GREAT COMMISSION CONFERENCE ACCELERATES EFFORTS TO REACH THE LEAST-REACHED Over 350 mission leaders from every continent recently came together to celebrate “Great Commission” progress, assess status and accelerate efforts to reach the least-reached peoples of the world. The meeting was a continuation of numerous global consultations on unreached peoples that have been held over the years, growing out of the AD 2000 & Beyond Movement, the Great Commission Roundtable, and Singapore ’02.

Gathering in a SouthEast Asian country – which itself has many unreached people groups – the participants heard reports from Latin America, the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, West and Central Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. While celebrating progress, participants were sobered by the reality of the world’s least-reached. Twenty years ago, 25% of the world had noaccess to the Gospel; today, that figure has risen to 28 percent. Meanwhile, in 1900, Christianity represented 33% of the world-a figure that has not changed over the past century.

Strategies coming from the Conference included a global initiative to facilitate a year-long prayer campaign for the least-reached peoples of the world. Plans were also made to equip the church to be better prepared to respond to the increasing number of natural disasters occurring worldwide, often in areas where there was no real Christian presence. Such plans include working together to create a global network that can help communication and collaboration in crisis situations. Different missions groups will come together to conduct joint research projects, and hold collaborative training events to see more church planting initiatives that result in movements of consistently reproducing indigenous churches that seek to live out the whole gospel to the whole world. Source: Ethne 06 report ———————————————– CUBA FACES A TIME OF POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY Cuban leader Fidel Castro says he is in a stable condition and good spirits following surgery, according a statement read on Cuban TV. “I feel perfectly fine,” Mr Castro was quoted as saying. Last week he handed power temporarily to his brother Raul, to recover from his treatment for internal bleeding. This is the first time Mr Castro has relinquished any of his duties as head of the communist state since he came to power in 1959. Most Cubans are taking the news of their leader’s sickness in their stride. The White House has said it is monitoring events while Cuban exiles have been celebrating in Miami. Raul Castro, the 75-year-old defence minister, has long been designated as his brother’s successor should he become incapacitated. Raul has always lurked in his brother’s shadow – a head shorter than Fidel, and without his brother’s charisma or oratorical verve. As head of Cuba’s armed forces, Raul has played a central role in Cuba’s recent history, and yet opinion is divided over the role he might play as Cuban leader. Some suggest he would make a more radical leader, citing a comment from Fidel in 1997: “Behind me are others more radical than I.” But others suggest he would help the country make the transition to a “softer”, more market-friendly form of communism. Yet others suggest that at 75, Raul would have only a limited period in the job, and limited impact.

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