AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT EXECUTES THREE CHRISTIANS

* CHRISTIAN LEADER ASSASSINATED IN INDONESIA

* CHRISTIAN SUSPENDED BY EMPLOYER FOR WEARING CROSS NECKLACE

* MUSLIMS TAKE REVENGE IN IRAQ FOR POPE’S REMARKS

* A GLOBAL EXPLOSION IN CHRISTIANITY

* SPIRITUAL OVERHAUL IN HOLLYWOOD

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INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT EXECUTES THREE CHRISTIANS

Three Christian men in Indonesia who claim they were falsely accused of murder during attacks by radical Muslims have been executed by firing squad. Human rights monitors say they believe the cases of Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus Dasilva and Marinus Riwu were rushed to aconclusion in order to appease Muslims upset by the scheduled execution of three Islamic terrorists charged in the 2002 Bali bombing. The men were sentenced to death during the conflict in Poso in 2000. More than 2,000 people died in three years of clashes in Central Sulawesi province before a peace agreement was reached between Muslim and Christian leaders. An Islamic terrorist group called Laskar Jihad threatened to eliminate Christians from the region but was held off by government troops. Since the agreement, however, sporadic attacks – mostly against Christians – have continued, according to international Christian groups that monitor persecution, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The execution was stayed by the attorney general for Central Sulawesi, Mohammad Yahya Sibe, but the official suddenly was replaced, and the order was given to proceed. The chief of police also suddenly was replaced and sent to anotherdepartment. Normally the appeal for the three men should last months or even a year.

Tibo, Riwu, and Da Silva were the only men charged in the Poso conflict. The men were part of a humanitarian team when they were arrested. They came to Poso in 2000 after hearing reports a Catholic Church there had been burned. “This is a glaring injustice and hints of massive cover-up by the Indonesian government,” said International Christian Concern (ICC) in a statement. “Entire Christian villages were attacked and burned down using Indonesian government fuel trucks,” ICC said. “Christian adults and children were beheaded. The Muslim community initiated the attacks and there was every indication that local Muslim government leaders were involved. No Muslims however have ever been charged in any of the attacks?” ICC went on to say “There are so many Muslims in the Poso area with blood on their hands that the governor of Central Sulawesi, where Poso is located, recently conveyed to the community that in order to attain peace it was necessary to implement a ‘general amnesty’ for those implicated in the Poso case. Strangely the need for amnesty was only extended to those who had not already been charged.”

Source: WorldNetDaily.com

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CHRISTIAN LEADER ASSASSINATED IN INDONESIA

There has been a serious escalation in the crisis in Central Sulawesi with the assassination of the Secretary of the Synod of Reformed Churches. Rev Irianto Kongkoli was a highly respected man, loved by many, with a great sense of humour. He will be sorely missed. He had been outspoken on issues of injustice, especially the recent unlawful execution of 3 Catholics. The Treasurer of the same church body, which numbers 1000 churches in Central Sulawesi, was also assassinated recently in similar fashion. Please pray for peace in Central Sulawesi. Please pray for justice to rule. Please pray for wisdom and patience for other Christian leaders and also for their protection from evil. In the meantime lawyers and Roman Catholic priests say they are seeking to take Indonesia to the International Criminal Court forthe execution of three Christians last month for their part in a mob killing. The inter-denominational Indonesian group, AdvocacyService for Justice and Peace in Indonesia (PADMA), said the executions were illegal and unconstitutional. This is because the accused were denied their constitutional rights to make a second appeal for clemency under Indonesian law, were executed in an”inhuman and uncivilised way” and were not buried according to their religious beliefs and wishes.

Source: International Friends of Compassion

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CHRISTIAN SUSPENDED BY EMPLOYER FOR WEARING CROSS NECKLACE

lA Christian woman has been banned by British Airways for wearing a small cross necklace to work – while muslims and sikhs are allowed to wear headscarves and turbans. Heathrow check-in worker Nadia Eweida was sent home after refusing to remove the crucifix which breached British Airway’s (BA) dress code. Her treatment brought condemnation both from Christian groups and members of other faiths. The airline’s uniform code states that staff must not wear visible jewellery or other ‘adornments’ while on duty without permission from management. It makes exceptions for Muslim and Sikh minorities by allowing them to wear hijabs and turbans. Sikh employees can even wear the traditional iron bangle – even though this would usually be classed as jewellery – while Muslim workers are also allowed prayer breaks during work time. Her case comes at a time of intense debate over the rights of individuals to express their belief – following Jack Straw’s call for Muslim women to remove their veils. Miss Eweida, a Coptic Christian whose father is Egyptian and mother English, was ordered to remove her cross or hide it beneath a company cravat by a duty manager at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 last month. She then sought permission from management to wear the chain – but was turned down. When Miss Eweida, who is unmarried, refused to remove the necklace she was offered the choice of suspension with pay or unpaid leave, pending a disciplinary hearing. Miss Eweida is suing BA under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. Her case is being supported by her union, the TGWU, and she has hired Paul Diamond, a barrister specialising in religious affairs and an adviser for the Keep Sunday Special campaign, to represent her at her employment tribunal. And a petition of support has been signed by more than 200 fellow workers. Mr Cable, MP for Twickenham and Liberal Democrat deputy leader said: “It is absolutely mind boggling that Britain’s flag-carrying airline could treat its employees in such a disgraceful and petty manner. “Nadia is a devout Christian who was displaying her faith, but in a modest and totally unprovocative manner. “It is absolutely right that other religious minorities be allowed exemption from the dress code, but why can’t a Christian be treated in the same way?” Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of the Christian charity the Barnabas Fund, said: “Discrimination against Christians is commonplace in Muslim-majority contexts, such as Egypt where Nadia’s family roots are. “Now we see the same thing increasingly happening within the UK. “Her Sikh and Muslim colleagues at BA can show their faith publicly in what they wear, but Nadia and other Christians cannot. All we are asking for is a level playing field for all faiths”.

Source: UK Daily Mail

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MUSLIMS TAKE REVENGE IN IRAQ FOR POPE’S REMARKS

Since Pope Benedict’s remarks about Islam there has been a spate of kidnappings of Christian girls. Many are sexually abused by their captors. There are unofficial estimates of 12 such incidents in the past two weeks. Some victims are so traumatised and shamed that they commit suicide. On Oct. 9th Father Boulos Iskandar of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Mosul was kidnapped. The kidnappers sent a ransom demand for between $250,000 and $350,000 and stated that his church must distance itself from the Pope’s remarks. Despite the church displaying a large poster that did so, Fr Iskandar’s beheaded body was discovered Oct. 11th. These incidents have increased fear amongst Iraqi Christians. Some are attempting to leave the country seeking refuge in Jordan or Syria.

Source: Middle East Concern

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A GLOBAL EXPLOSION IN CHRISTIANITY

Young Christian leaders from around the world met at a gathering in Malaysia recently to listen to mission experts discuss the rapid growth of global evangelicalism. Nearly 500 young leaders from over 110 countries gathered in Malaysia for six days for Christ-centred leadership development. The Younger Leaders Gathering is a ministry of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization where emerging leaders in churches, ministries and the marketplace ages 25-35 convene to learn new leadership skills, strengthen their spiritual life, and formnetworks with other young Christian leaders around the world. Jason Mandryck, co-author of the mission prayer guide Operation World, said that although Christianity has barely kept pace with world population growth over the last century, evangelicalism is “far and away the fastest growing major religious movement in the world today.” Evangelicalism he says, is growing twice the pace of Islam and three times as fast as the overall world population. Most significantly, the global growth is seen in countries such as Brazil, China, Bangladesh and Nigeria which have “exploding” Christian populations. Indeed, states Mandryck, the Mongolian church is now the most efficient missions force, sending one missionary for every 222 Christians.

Source: Christian Post

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SPIRITUAL OVERHAUL IN HOLLYWOOD

The company that brought TV viewers racy and irreverent programs such as “Nip/Tuck,” “Temptation Island” and “The Simpsons” has found religion. 20th Century Fox has unveiled a new division called FoxFaith, which will deliver up to a dozen religious- oriented movies a year. According to a Fox spokesman, the number one drive behind creating FoxFaith was the unprecedented commercial success of Gibson’s Passion in 2004 which grossed a massive $612 million worldwide. The new division will overturn decades of spiritual drought in Hollywood and represents the boldest move so far by any of the Hollywood studios into the generally uncharted territory of the evangelical and traditional Christian market. The first fruit of the new brand will be Love’s Abiding Joy, a western based on a series by best-selling Christian novelist Janette Oke. The movie, directed and co-written by Michael Landon Jr, son of the late star of TV hit “Little House on the Prairie”, tells the story of the experience of American pioneers and the hardships that challenged their faith. Fox is sure it is tapping into an underserved and potentially lucrative corner of the film-loving public who remain unimpressed by the often spiritually void Hollywood offerings that glorify sex, violence and generally immoral behaviour.

Source: Intercessors for America

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