Today’s Headlines:

SOMALI CHRISTIAN STUDENT SHOT TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO CHANT KORAN

AUTHORITIES ARREST PAKISTANI TEENAGER FOR ‘BLASPHEMY’

EXTREME PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN INDIA’S MADHYA PRADESH STATE

MAF DEDICATES NEW HEADQUARTERS FACILITY IN NAMPA, IDAHO

4,000 CHRISTIANS MEET FREELY AT RALLY IN KAZAKHSTAN

Today’s Top Stories:

SOMALI CHRISTIAN STUDENT SHOT TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO CHANT KORAN

Somali Christian college student and cloth merchant Ali Mustaf Maka’il was shot and killed in the Manabolyo quarter of Mogadishu on Thursday, Sept. 7. The 22-year-old had converted to Christianity from Islam 11 months ago. Reports quoting a Christian source inside Somalia attribute the attack to a gunman loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU), the Islamic organization that took power in Mogadishu in June and now controls much of southern Somalia. A report by the Barnabas Fund says that Ali was shot in the back after refusing to join chants of Koran verses in honor of the lunar eclipse. The ICU confiscated his body for 24 hours before delivering it to the grieving family. “There is a long history of conflict between Muslim Somalis and Christian Ethiopians, so anti-Christian sentiment runs deep,” the source said. “Most Somalis take it for granted that a true Somali is a Muslim and converts to Christianity must be traitors. These prejudices, widely held by Muslim Somalis, seem to be used to justify violence against Christians.” (Assist News Service)

AUTHORITIES ARREST PAKISTANI TEENAGER FOR ‘BLASPHEMY’

Young Pakistani Christian Shahid Masih, 17, was arrested and charged with “blasphemy” last week on suspicion of ripping out pages of a book that contained verses from the Koran. His lawyer has filed an appeal to dismiss the case for lack of evidence due to the lawyer’s assertion that the sole evidence against Masih is the testimony of a Muslim man already accused of the same crime. If convicted, Masih could face a life sentence for blasphemy. His family is appealing to Joel Amir Sahot. More than 200 Islamic fanatics attended the first hearing against Masih on Thursday, Sept. 14, in Faisalabad. At least 23 people involved in blasphemy cases have been murdered in Pakistan since the laws were instituted in the 1980s. (Religion Today/Compass Direct)

EXTREME PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN INDIA’S MADHYA PRADESH STATE

The string of persecution against Christians in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state continued this month with Hindu extremists severely beating two pastors on Sunday, Sept. 24, accusing them of “forcing” conversions. Two days before, two evangelists were attacked and injured with accusations of them “hurting Hindu sentiments.” More than 20 members from two Hindu extremist groups barged into a church in Nana Badvani Sunday, Sept. 24, and attacked the two pastors, identified only as Sukhlal and Jorsingh. The mob spit on a Bible and tore it up, threatening the pastors’ lives if they did not abandon Christ. Later the mob dragged the two men to the police, accusing them of eating beef — an offense to Hindus. The two evangelists were attacked between two villages after someone called to request prayer. Evangelists Lakhan Pawar and Shailendra Pawar were attacked as they traveled to the prayer appointment together. Lakhan was severely injured and was temporarily hospitalized. Both men remain in custody, afraid to request bond due to fears of further attacks. In the past two months at least 14 other Christians have been accused of attempted forced conversions or hurting Hindu religious sentiments in Madhya Pradesh. (WorldWide Religious News/Compass Direct)

MAF DEDICATES NEW HEADQUARTERS FACILITY IN NAMPA, IDAHO

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) dedicated a new training and mobilization headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, Saturday Sept. 23. Events included tours, airplane rides, music, seminars and a book signing by author and speaker Dr. Rich Buhler. MAF made the move from its Redlands, Calif., headquarters this summer due to the high costs of living and operating in California. “This relocation has been the single largest project in our 60-year history, and we are already experiencing the benefits of the move,” said MAF President Kevin Swanson. “The expanded training and support facility has given us room to grow, as we prepare to send new missionaries and as we support our families already serving worldwide.” MAF is already planning to use the larger facility when key decision-makers from the world’s international missions organizations will meet at the new MAF headquarters Oct. 18-19 to determine how to work together to effectively use the results of the ministry’s recent landmark study for global missions called “Operation ACCESS!” (Mission Aviation Fellowship)

4,000 CHRISTIANS MEET FREELY AT RALLY IN KAZAKHSTAN

Despite the fact that the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan remains predominantly Muslim and continues to restrict religious freedom, 4,000 believers recently gathered in Almaty for worship and teaching. “I remember visiting Kazakhstan in the early 1990s and there were very few believers among the Kazakh people themselves,” said Geoff Tunnicliffe of the World Evangelical Alliance. “But God has done a marvelous work in these last 10 or 15 years, and I was able to speak at the largest gathering of Kazakh believers in its history.” He says most believers in Kazakhstan are under age 40 and come from Muslim backgrounds. He says most have “been under tremendous pressure since they became believers and have had to make great sacrifices for being followers of Jesus.” Tunnicliffe is optimistic about changes in religious restrictions. “I had some very encouraging meetings with political leaders, urging them to promote pluralism and protection for the religious minorities,” he said. “And every indication is that they’re willing to commit to that.” (Mission Network News)