AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* DHIMMITUDE OR DEATH IN WEST JAVA

* IRANIANS STILL FACE DEATH BY STONING DESPITE REPRIEVE

* THREE QUARTERS OF U.S. MOSQUES PREACH ANTI-WESTERN
EXTREMISM

* AUSTRALIA PROVIDES $50 MILLION TO PNG CHURCHES

* MORE MOROCCAN CHRISTIANS EXPELLED

* CHURCH ATTENDANCE UP IN
AMERICA

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DHIMMITUDE OR
DEATH IN WEST JAVA

Analysts are warning that the situation in Bekasi, West Java,
threatens to deteriorate into religious war similar to that which
engulfed Central Sulawesi and Maluku between 1999 and 2002. Tensions
are rising, preparations are in motion and all it awaits is a
trigger. Islamic fundamentalists at the Bekasi Islamic Congress have
demanded introduction of Sharia laws to ‘limit’ apostasy. They
propose that every mosque in Bekasi establish its own paramilitary
unit to be mobilised against Christians if “Christianisation” is not
halted in line with their demands.

Indonesian legislators have called for the Islamic Defenders Front
(FPI) to be banned. However, others claim that if this is done other
groups will just emerge in its place. Legislators demand that police
must act decisively to apprehend all lawbreakers and that full and
open investigations must be conducted in the event of any
militia-related attacks. They also want those found orchestrating
these attacks to face punishment. Whether or not the government is
prepared to enforce the law in the face of Islamic fundamentalism, is
the watershed issue on which the future of Indonesia balances.
Some 100 jihadist recruits recently turned out for an inaugural
military training exercise in Bekasi. “We are seeking to strike fear
in the hearts of Christians,” said Murhali Barda, who heads the local
chapter of the FPI. “If they refuse to stop what they’re doing, we’re
ready to fight.” The government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
is reluctant to act against the fundamentalists because it is
dependent upon the support of Islamic parties in the parliament. With
the Islamic parties holding the balance of power, nobody, especially
the ruling party, can afford to be deemed “un-Islamic”.
Arbi Sanit, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia said.
“Being popular is more important to the politicians than punishing
those who are clearly breaking the law.” Catholic news agency Fides
agrees: “Radicals are exploiting a central government that is
dependent upon Muslim support and fearful of Islamic belligerence.”
Jesuit Fr. Ignazio Ismartono, director of the Indonesian Bishops’
Crisis Service told Fides: The root cause of the problem is “the
breakdown in relationship between Islamic and Christian groups. At
the basis of it is the question of respect for others.
Every religious community should not propagate their faith so
fanatically. This approach only leads to a reaction of fanaticism in
other communities. It’s a vicious circle that we must emerge from.
But what is he saying exactly? This seductive, fine-sounding
statement deserves closer scrutiny. Firstly he is saying that we must
accept that religions have established “spheres of action and
influence”. According to Islam, Christians have no right to witness
to Muslims who have no automatic right to hear any other claim to
truth or choose their own religion.

The implication that Christian should have respect for “others”, we
can only assume that he is asking the Protestants to respect the
demands of the apostaphobic dictators of Islam. Fr Ismartono implies
that the Muslim fanaticism that is threatening to shed Christian
blood in Bekasi is only a reaction to Protestant fanaticism with the
gospel. The reality however, is that the Islamic fanaticism surfacing
in Bekasi is merely part of the global revival of intolerant,
jihadist and revolutionary, fundamentalist Islam. Fr Ismartono needs
to explain how then should Christians live? What should Christians do
so as to enable “peaceful coexistence”?

What should Christians do so as to avoid invoking Islamic fanaticism
against the hurch? Mind you, the answers might read like a Middle
Ages handbook for dhimmitude. And this is the problem with so much
Muslim-Christian Dialogue — it tends to revolve around Christians,
responding to unspoken threats of terror, making concessions towards
dhimmitude in the hope that the Muslims won’t kill them. But
dhimmitude is not the solution.

Source: Religious Liberty
Monitoring

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IRANIANS STILL
FACE DEATH BY STONING DESPITE REPRIEVE

Twelve Iranian women and three men are on death row awaiting
execution by stoning despite a last-minute reprieve for a mother of
two who had been facing the sentence after being convicted of
adultery. Human rights groups and activists welcomed a wave of
international publicity and protests over the case of Sakineh
Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, who was awaiting execution after what her
lawyer called an unjust trial and a sham conviction. The Iranian
embassy in London said in a statement that “according to information
from the relevant judicial authorities” the stoning would not go
ahead.

If confirmed it would be a victory for a brief but intense campaign.
However, there are still concerns over her plight. In a previous case
a prisoner who was to be stoned was instead executed by hanging.
Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son Sajad, said his mother believed the pressure
on her behalf might succeed, although he had not heard of any
reprieve. “The campaign for her release is going well,” he said.
“They gave me permission to talk to her and she was very thankful to
the people of the world for supporting her. It was the first time in
years I heard any hope in my mother’s voice.”

Without a reprieve, Mohammadi Ashtiani would have been buried up to
her neck before being pelted with stones large enough to cause pain
but not so large as to kill her immediately. Iran routinely censors
information about executions, but all the 12 other women on death row
have been convicted on adultery charges, as has one of the three men.
Iranian activists say the tragedy is that the families of those
sentenced to death often ignore them. “It doesn’t matter to them
whether the charge of adultery is true or not because the honour of
the family is tainted,” said Soheila Vahdati.

“It’s not possible to talk about these prisoners in public because
their families don’t want their names mentioned or their pictures
published. Their families don’t want to defend them neither.
Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case is amazing because her children are
campaigning for her courageously and said that their mother is
innocent.” “The only reason the Iranian government has not carried
out stoning sentences on all these people is that it is afraid of
Iranian public reaction and international attention”, said
Soheila.

Source: Intercessors
Network

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THREE QUARTERS OF
U.S. MOSQUES PREACH ANTI-WESTERN EXTREMISM

An undercover survey of more than 100 mosques and Islamic schools in
America has exposed widespread radicalism, including the finding that
3 in 4 Islamic centres are hotbeds of anti-Western extremism. The
Mapping Sharia in America Project, sponsored by the Washington-based
Centre for Security Policy, has trained former counter intelligence
and counter terrorism agents from the FBI, CIA and U.S. military, who
are skilled in Arabic and Urdu, to conduct undercover reconnaissance
at some 2,300 mosques and Islamic centres and schools across the
country.”

So far of 100 mapped, 75 should be on a watchlist,” an official
familiar with the project said. Many of the Islamic centres are
operating under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian government and U.S.
front groups for the radical Muslim Brotherhood based in Egypt. Frank
Gaffney, a former Pentagon official who runs the Centre for Security
Policy, confirmed that “the vast majority” are inciting insurrection
and jihad through sermons by Saudi-trained imams and anti-Western
literature, videos and textbooks.

The project, headed by David Yerushalmi, a lawyer and expert on
sharia law, has collected data from the 102 mosques and schools.
Preliminary findings indicate that almost 80 percent of the group
exhibit a high level of sharia-compliance and jihadi threat,
including: Ultra-orthodox worship in which women are separated from
men in the prayer hall and must enter the mosque from a separate,
usually back, entrance; and are required to wear hijabs. Though not
all mosques in America are radicalized, many have tended to serve as
safe havens and meeting points for Islamic terrorist groups.
Even with such radical mosques operating in its backyard, the
U.S.government has not undertaken its own systematic investigation of
U.S.mosques. In contrast, European Union security officials are
analysing member-state mosques, examining the training and funding
sources of imams, in a large-scale project. Some U.S. lawmakers want
the U.S. to conduct its own investigation.”We have too many mosques
in this country,” said Representative Pete King. “There are too many
people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at
them more carefully.

Source: Intercessors for
America

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AUSTRALIA PROVIDES
$50 MILLION TO PNG CHURCHES

Australia will provide $50 million to churches in Papua New Guinea
over six years to deliver critical health and education services to
the poorest, most disadvantaged and remote people of PNG. These
services include building medical centres for people with HIV and
AIDS, operating health clinics and schools in remote areas, training
medical workers and school teachers and running primary schools. PNG
churches help to resolve community conflicts, respond to disasters
and improve the income of PNG’s poorest people through growing and
marketing cash crops.

Australia’s support for these efforts recognises the vital role
churches play in delivering approximately half the country’s health
and education programs. Australian Non Government Organisations will
work with PNG churches, who deliver aid directly to the people of
PNG. This is a very effective way to ensure that capacity is being
built and services reach the people most in need. This new phase of
the Australian Government funded Church Partnership Program builds on
the success of the churches’ efforts to date.

In the past Australia has provided $35 million to support PNG
churches to raise HIV awareness, address discrimination, improve
health facilities, train school teachers and respond to emergencies
such as the cholera outbreak in 2009 and the Oro floods in 2007. The
new phase will continue this good work. It will help PNG churches
workmore closely with PNG Government service delivery agencies. The
program will also support PNG churches to join forces to deliver
health and education activities. This will maximise the reach
and effectiveness of Australia’s support.

Source: Compiled by APN from media
reports

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MORE MOROCCAN
CHRISTIANS EXPELLED

Moroccan authorities have expelled eight more foreign Christians from
the country, bringing the total deported since March to 128. Two
foreign women married to Moroccan Christians were included in this
third wave of deportations. One of the women, a Lebanese national
married to a Moroccan, was diagnosed with cancer last month and is
the mother of a 6-year old girl whom she was forced to leave behind.

Authorities called the foreigners to police stations across Morocco
and told them they had 48 hours to leave the country for “threatening
public order.” Other nationals who were forced to leave came from
France, Egypt, Lebanon, Switzerland, Nigeria and Spain. Moroccan
authorities are essentially deporting Christians for “proselytism,” –
widely perceived as bribing people to change their faith, which is
illegal in Morocco. The deportations come amid a nationwide
mudslinging campaign geared to vilify Christians in Morocco.

Source: Compass Direct
News

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CHURCH ATTENDANCE
UP IN AMERICA

A new Gallup poll shows church attendance in the U.S. has increased
in 2010 with 43.1% of Americans reporting weekly or almost weekly
church attendance, up from 42.1% in 2008. Though it appears to be a
small increase, Gallup noted that it is statistically significant,
considering the data is based on more than 800,000 interviews between
February 2008 and May 2010. The increase comes as Americans’ economic
confidence has risen, suggesting that, instead of church attendance
rising in bad economic times as some theorize, the opposite pattern
may be occurring.

Source: The Christian
Post

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