Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 193 | Wed 16 Jan 2013
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CHECHNYA: THE LONG-SUFFERING LAND
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by Anneta Vyssotskaia
Chechnya (or Chechen Republic) is part of the Southern Federal District of
the Russian Federation. It is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains
and borders several other Russian republics and regions: Ingushetia,
Northern Ossetia, Dagestan and Stavropolskii. It borders Georgia on the
south. The population of Chechnya is now about 1.4 million, over 95
percent of whom are Chechen. Its Russian population was almost 50 percent
in 1960s but is now less than two percent. Chechnya became part of the
Russian Empire in the mid-16th Century. By the early 19th Century a large
community of Russian Cossacks had formed on the territory of modern
Chechnya.
Since becoming part of the Russian Empire the Chechen people were almost
constantly fighting for their independence, continuing into the Soviet
period. In 1944, by Stalin’s decree, over half-a-million Chechen and
Ingush people were deported forcefully from their land to Central Asia and
Kazakhstan under most severe conditions and many perished during
deportation. In 1957-58, during the time of Nikita Khrushchev, the Chechen
people were allowed to return to their homeland. However, conflict started
between the returning Chechen and the Russian population, especially in
the area of the capital city, Grozny. Tensions grew after the collapse of
the Soviet Union. This resulted in a series of armed conflicts and two
wars, leaving behind multitudes of victims and refugees of different
nationalities amongst the civilian population. In 2007 Ramzan Kadyrov
became the President of the Chechen Republic with the support of the
Russian government. In 2009 the Russian troops were withdrawn leaving
Kadyrov in charge of Chechnya.
President Kadyrov supports traditional Sunni Islam, the main religion in
Chechnya. This includes Sharia law, women wearing traditional Muslim
clothes, polygamy and honour killings. Starting in the early 1990s many
Chechen people and especially the youth were influenced greatly by radical
Islam.
During the Chechen wars many church buildings of different denominations
were destroyed, the believers were kidnapped, killed, raped, beaten,
tortured or had to flee the country for the sake of their lives. The
Baptist church in Grozny once had 300 members but by 2001 there was only a
tiny group of elderly widows, others who survived having left the country.
Amongst Chechens, Christianity is considered the religion of the Russian
people. It is totally unacceptable for a Chechen to become a Christian or
a follower of any other religion. If one family member chooses another
religion it is a disgrace for the whole family and brings a lot of
persecution on the new convert. Converts are considered to be ‘murtad’ or
traitors of their own religion and people. There are some reports about
Chechen people becoming Christians and even pastors and evangelists but
they are mainly amongst those who live outside Chechnya. The individual
Chechens who become Christians in Chechnya have to remain secret believers
because of the threat to their lives.
It is very difficult to obtain reliable information on the overall number
of believers and churches in Chechnya. Information is available on the
situation with Russian Orthodox churches of which there are several in
Chechnya. During the last few years the Chechen government financed
restoration of the Russian Orthodox churches destroyed during the Chechen
wars. In 2011 the Russian Orthodox church performed a mass baptism of 35
people in the waters of the Terek River. In October 2012 there was a
remarkable and significant event: the first full translation of the Bible
into the Chechen language was presented to the participants of the Second
Peacemaking conference in Grozny. This resulted from 15 years’ translation
work by the Institute of Bible Translation. Ominously, however, these
advances are provoking escalating criticism and ruthless violence from
radicalised Islamic extremists.
PLEASE THANK GOD SPECIFICALLY FOR –
* people who continue to seek truth and become followers of Jesus Christ
in Chechnya despite all the persecution, asking him to provide his
miraculous protection and cover for all his people in Chechnya.
* the individual faithful believers in Chechnya, praying for complete
restoration of his Church there.
* the full translation of the Bible into the Chechen language, praying
that he will reveal himself to many people in Chechnya through the
Bible.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY –
* for peace and restoration of the country and God’s healing for all who
have been wounded physically and emotionally and that feelings of
hatred and revenge will give way to forgiveness and a desire to live in
peace.
* that God will raise up a new generation of children and young people
who will wish and be able to build a new foundation for all people to
live in peace and harmony in Chechnya, and see the importance of
religious freedom and respect for people of different nationalities and
religious views.
‘My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked
and deceitful have opened their mouths against me . . . with words of
hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.’
(Psalm 109:1-3 NIV)
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE:
————————————————————
CHECHNYA, THE LONG-SUFFERING LAND
The people of Chechnya have a long history of fighting for independence.
The collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by several armed conflicts
and wars. President Ramzan Kadyrov strongly supports Sunni Islam, the
country’s main religion. However, many younger people have been strongly
radicalised by violent Islamist extremists. Christianity is considered
the religion for Russians and any Chechen becoming a Christian would be
treated as ‘murtad’ – a traitor of Islam and Chechnya who should be
killed. However, despite threats and difficulties, there are Christians
amongst Chechen people, mostly secret believers or living outside
Chechnya. Significantly, the first full Chechyan translation of the Bible
was introduced at a conference in Grozny, the capital, in October 2012.
Please pray for God’s protection of believers and the growth of his
Church.
——————–
To access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer
Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com
AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER 14 January 2013
CIVILIANS BOMBED IN CHRISTIAN AREAS OF SUDAN
The Sudanese government has stepped up bombing of its own non-Arab civilians in Christian areas of Kordofan state. According to a story by Morning Star News, since South Sudan split from Sudan in a referendum last year, ethnic Nuba peoples in Sudan’s Kordofan state believe the government’s goal of squashing the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLA-N) rebels carries an increasingly evident goal of ridding the area of non-Arabs and Christians. Journalists covering the situation in Sudan claim that 81 of 102 bombings in Kordofan in recent months have been on civilian areas under no ground attack.
The bombings were not meant to provide air support for ground forces, and they did not hit rebel soldiers. In one such attack a Russian-made Antonov plane dropped a dozen bombs on two villages in Kordofan. These areas are populated almost entirely by Christians. “Our people are dying every day as result of aerial bombardment because they are Christians,” a pastor said during a recent funeral for bombing victims. A source who returned from three months in Kordofan told Morning Star News he witnessed air strikes with several communities being hit with 20 bombs in just two days.
The Sudanese Government is using the presence of rebel fighters from the SPLA-N based in the region as a pretence to undertake indiscriminate bombing of food and water supplies as well as blocking humanitarian aid to the region, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Since military conflict began in June 2011, the Sudanese military has bombed Nuba churches, schools and the farms of Christian families rather than the supposed targets of rebel soldiers. Thousands of civilians have reportedly taken refuge in local caves, with many sending their children on dangerous treks to refugee camps in South Sudan to escape the bombings.
The Nuba people as Sudanese citizens on the northern side of the border, were not given the option of secession in the 2005 peace pact between northern and southern Sudan. The SPLA-N rebels in the Nuba Mountains were formerly involved with the southern SPLA forces fighting Khartoum before the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The SPLA now governs South Sudan, and the border conflict has kept the two Sudans on the verge of another full-scale war since June 2011. As a consequence, Morning Star News said, Nuba Mountain Christians increasingly feel they are being driven into South Sudan.
That is especially so as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said post-secession Sudan will follow Islamic law and Arabic culture, sources said. Christians say intensified bombardments by Khartoum make panic and horror among civilians a daily ordeal. “The church in Kordofan is undergoing huge persecution, but believers remain committed to their Christian faith,” a church leader said. Morning Star News said humanitarian agencies are saying that the Islamic government is targeting civilians in the Nuba Mountains as an “ethnic cleansing” of non-Arab peoples, at the same time aiming to rid the area of its large Christian population.
Fighting between Sudan and South Sudan broke out in June 2011, when Khartoum forcefully attempted to disarm the SPLA-N in Kordofan rather than awaiting a process of disarmament as called for in the CPA. When the CPA was signed in 2005, the people of Kordofan were to vote on whether to join the north or the south, but the state governor suspended the process. Morning Star News said Sudan’s Interim National Constitution holds up sharia as a source of legislation, and the laws and policies of the government favour Islam, according to the U.S. State Department.
Source: ASSIST News Service
NIGERIA: THE TERROR OF JIHAD
Up to 20 Christians were killed and dozens wounded recently in a twin suicide bombing at a Protestant Church inside the Jaji military barracks in Kaduna. Indications are that the bombers were residents of the barracks and might have built the bomb on site, which would explain why they were granted access to the church without being searched. This raises fears that other military establishments could be similarly targeted. Boko Haram gunmen also attacked the headquarters of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja, freeing 30 detainees and killing two policemen. In Boko Haram ¢â‚¬â„¢s own words, Nigeria is at war.
Another band of jihadists attacked Kupwal, a remote village in Chibok Local Government Area (LGA), some 160km south of the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri in Borno, Nigeria’s most north-eastern state. They invaded the Christian district and according to survivors entered ‘carefully selected’ homes, slitting the throats of the occupants. They then set fire to homes and sacked the whole neighbourhood to chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the greatest). At least 10 people were killed whilst dozens escaped with serious and life-threatening injuries. Observers believe Boko Haram was either responsible or at least complicit.
The next day 50 Islamists attacked a police station, Government offices and three churches in the predominantly Christian area of Gamboru Ngala, near the Cameroon border. Before launching their attack, in which 5 police were killed, they destroyed mobile phone masts to prevent communication. The churches were torched and Christians living in the town were targeted. Two weeks earlier, leaflets were distributed in which the Islamists announced the imposition of Taliban-style rule with women being told to wear the veil and cigarettes being banned. A tailor was shot for continuing to make clothing the Islamists deemed un-Islamic.
Sunday Oibe, spokesman for the northern group of the Christian Association of Nigeria, decried the continued attacks on Christians, which he said were not getting enough attention from the government. ¢â‚¬Å“What people get to hear is just a fraction of the attacks Christians are subjected to, ¢â‚¬ Oibe said. ¢â‚¬Å“It is unfortunate that when the Christian Association of Nigeria president comments on the issue, they accuse him of not being sensitive or raising false alarm. We cannot continue to keep quiet in the face of these provocative attacks. ¢â‚¬
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL —
* rise up on behalf of his traumatised and terrorised people and intervene to rout the enemy and deliver his Church. Pray that He would bring healing and comfort to his bleeding, broken and grieving people; may He provide all their needs and make His loving presence felt so as to sustain their sorely-tested faith, that they might be ‘more than conquerors through Him who loved us’.
* give the Nigerian authorities divine wisdom and insight, strength and commitment that they might excel in their battle against the enemies of the state and the enemies of the Lord. Pray that He will re-assure the church in northern Nigeria of His protection. Pray that the church in the south, and indeed the rest of the world, join this battle by praying for the north.
* bless every Nigerian missionary and every witnessing Nigerian with divine courage and power from the Holy Spirit, for this is first and foremost a spiritual struggle.
Source: Religious Liberty Commission
NEW GAY-FRIENDLY MOSQUE TESTS ISLAM’S TOLERANCE IN PARIS
Europe’s first homosexual friendly mosque has opened in a Paris suburb, challenging Islam’s long tradition of condemning same-sex relationships. The mosque, set up inside the house of a Buddhist monk, welcomes transgender and transsexual Muslims and seats men and women together, breaking with another custom where the sexes are normally segregated during prayer. Its founder, a French-Algerian gay activist and practicing Muslim Ludovic Zahed, will also encourage women to lead Friday prayers, smashing yet another taboo. “It’s a radically inclusive mosque. A mosque where people can come as they are,” said Zahed.
It ¢â‚¬â„¢s prayer space is the first in Europe to formally brand itself as a gay-friendly mosque. The mosque, which for now will be limited to Friday prayer sessions, is opening as religious leaders in France, including senior Muslims, are fighting plans by the Socialist government to legalize same-sex marriage. Zahed decided there was a need for a gay-friendly prayer space as membership of his fledgling association “Homosexual Muslims of France” rose to 325 people from just six people when he founded it two years ago. The prayer leader at Zahed’s mosque said hostility to homosexuals prompted many to quit the faith.
“France sorely lacks a space like this,” said the 38-year-old, asking not to be named. Zahed’s mosque is not supported by any formal Muslim institution and many imams in France oppose it. The Muslim world tends to be more hostile to homosexuality than Judaism or Christianity. “We know that homosexual Muslims exist but opening a mosque is an aberration,” said Abdallah Zekri, who monitors anti-Muslim attacks for France’s Muslim council. Paris Mosque Rector Dalil Boubakeur said Zahed’s project would stand “outside the community”.
“We do not point the finger at homosexuals, but neither can we give them recognition in our community,” Boubakeur said. ¢â‚¬Å“Most Muslims interpret the Koran as forbidding homosexuality ¢â‚¬ he added. President Francois Hollande’s plan to legalize same sex marriage is proving highly divisive in a country that is mainly Catholic, though home also to 5 million Muslims. Zahed, who believes he is the first Muslim in France to be joined to a same-sex partner in a symbolic ceremony conducted by an imam, says gays or transsexuals who feel their sexuality is conspicuous can struggle to blend in at regular mosques.
There are currently a handful of gay-friendly mosques in Canada, South Africa and the United States, Zahed believes he is pushing a new boundary in France by providing a haven for homosexuals. “The goal of these Muslims is to promote a form of Islam that is inclusive of progressive values,” said Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, an associate researcher at France’s Research and Studies Institute on the Arab and Muslim World. The push by homosexual Muslims for acceptance comes as a younger generation of Muslims is questioning some of the existing interpretations of the Koran as over-conservative.
Source: Charisma News
MORE POWER MORE PERSECUTION IN EGYPT
Christian human-rights analysts warn the expanded powers given to the Egyptian Government by the newly approved constitution means more Christian persecution to come. Middle East analyst Theodore Shoebat has also expressed concern. ¢â‚¬Å“In order for us to comprehend how Christians will be eventually persecuted under a Muslim Brotherhood run Egypt, we must look to North Sudan, also run by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Omar al-Bashir, ¢â‚¬ he said. ¢â‚¬Å“Bashir has committed a genocide of millions of Christians in the name of jihad and like Morsi, he believes that the Quran must be the constitution of his country, ¢â‚¬ Shoebat said.
Shoebat said he believes Morsi will follow the model of al-Bashir. He said a hint of Morsi ¢â‚¬â„¢s future intentions was revealed when he refused to attend the investiture ceremony of the new Coptic Pope Tawadros II. International Christian Concern ¢â‚¬â„¢s Middle East analyst Aidan Clay noted the Coptic pope made good on his threat to pull out of the Constituent Assembly. At least 12 liberals withdrew from the Constituent Assembly ¢â‚¬“ the 100 member body which was tasked with drafting Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s new constitution. This followed the departure of five Christian representatives days earlier, because they were not given fair representation, ¢â‚¬ Clay said.
Shoebat also said there will no longer be any barriers to an all-out persecution of the Christians. ¢â‚¬Å“The Christians will be massacred by orders from the state itself, and will be happily done not only by government officers and soldiers, but by the Egyptian people themselves. Egypt will not only be ruled under full dictatorship, but also by mob rule, ¢â‚¬ Shoebat said. Clay added that on the legal front, Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s institutions are moving steadily into the firm grip of the Muslim Brotherhood and its jihadist allies. The Assembly is now firmly in the hands of the jihadists.
¢â‚¬Å“Nearly all the representatives remaining in the assembly are Islamists from the Brotherhood and the more radical Salafis ¢â‚¬ Clay said. ¢â‚¬Å“It ¢â‚¬â„¢s becoming increasingly clear that the new constitution will not settle Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s transitional woes, as Islamists have emerged as the strongest political force and are quickly monopolizing power from the young revolutionaries who sparked Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s uprising, ¢â‚¬ Clay said. ¢â‚¬Å“Islamist parties, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, have already solidified control of the legislature, winning nearly 75 percent of the seats in parliamentary elections earlier this year, ¢â‚¬ Clay said.
Source: OpenHeaven.com
BLACK PASTOR LEADS WHITE SUPREMIST TO GOD
The Lord Jesus said that although something may be impossible for man, “with God all things are possible.” This was the case recently when a small church in Columbia, Tennessee held a Community Giveaway, offering clothing, shoes, house wares, hot soup and stew for free to the needy in the area. One of those who came to the giveaway at New Life Church of God in Christ (COGIC) was a man named Clay, his fianc ƒ ©e and children. While they were there, Pastor Christopher Taylor had the opportunity to shake hands and talk with Clay.
A leader in a white supremacy group, Clay began to sense something going on in his heart as he spoke with Pastor Taylor. According to his testimony which he later shared with the congregation of New Life, Clay wrestled with the Lord all night, knowing God was calling him to be saved and even to join the ministry of the mostly Black New Life COGIC. The next day he was standing at the church door with his family, waiting for Pastor Taylor. He and his fianc ƒ ©e both prayed to receive the Lord and become members of New Life. They believe one day God will use them to help steer youth away from gang life.
Source: Charisma News
CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL SERVES MUSLIM NEIGHBOURS IN EGYPT
A Christian hospital run by the Anglican Church ¢â‚¬”is challenging the inter-faith friction which has pitted Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s Christians against Muslims in sectarian disputes. Despite religious differences, people come from all over the region to be treated at the hospital due to its good reputation. Most of the patients are Muslim who prefer to go there because they trust the hospital. The Anglican bishop who oversees the hospital was quoted as saying it gave the doctors at the hospital the opportunity to show real and genuine Christian love and compassion to their Muslim neighbours.
Source: Christian Today
Have you visited our Web site? Australian Prayer Network
~~~
AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER
CIVILIANS BOMBED IN CHRISTIAN AREAS OF SUDAN
The Sudanese government has stepped up bombing of its own non-Arab civilians in Christian areas of Kordofan state. According to a story by Morning Star News, since South Sudan split from Sudan in a referendum last year, ethnic Nuba peoples in Sudan’s Kordofan state believe the government’s goal of squashing the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLA-N) rebels carries an increasingly evident goal of ridding the area of non-Arabs and Christians. Journalists covering the situation in Sudan claim that 81 of 102 bombings in Kordofan in recent months have been on civilian areas under no ground attack.
The bombings were not meant to provide air support for ground forces, and they did not hit rebel soldiers. In one such attack a Russian-made Antonov plane dropped a dozen bombs on two villages in Kordofan. These areas are populated almost entirely by Christians. “Our people are dying every day as result of aerial bombardment because they are Christians,” a pastor said during a recent funeral for bombing victims. A source who returned from three months in Kordofan told Morning Star News he witnessed air strikes with several communities being hit with 20 bombs in just two days.
The Sudanese Government is using the presence of rebel fighters from the SPLA-N based in the region as a pretence to undertake indiscriminate bombing of food and water supplies as well as blocking humanitarian aid to the region, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Since military conflict began in June 2011, the Sudanese military has bombed Nuba churches, schools and the farms of Christian families rather than the supposed targets of rebel soldiers. Thousands of civilians have reportedly taken refuge in local caves, with many sending their children on dangerous treks to refugee camps in South Sudan to escape the bombings.
The Nuba people as Sudanese citizens on the northern side of the border, were not given the option of secession in the 2005 peace pact between northern and southern Sudan. The SPLA-N rebels in the Nuba Mountains were formerly involved with the southern SPLA forces fighting Khartoum before the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The SPLA now governs South Sudan, and the border conflict has kept the two Sudans on the verge of another full-scale war since June 2011. As a consequence, Morning Star News said, Nuba Mountain Christians increasingly feel they are being driven into South Sudan.
That is especially so as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said post-secession Sudan will follow Islamic law and Arabic culture, sources said. Christians say intensified bombardments by Khartoum make panic and horror among civilians a daily ordeal. “The church in Kordofan is undergoing huge persecution, but believers remain committed to their Christian faith,” a church leader said. Morning Star News said humanitarian agencies are saying that the Islamic government is targeting civilians in the Nuba Mountains as an “ethnic cleansing” of non-Arab peoples, at the same time aiming to rid the area of its large Christian population.
Fighting between Sudan and South Sudan broke out in June 2011, when Khartoum forcefully attempted to disarm the SPLA-N in Kordofan rather than awaiting a process of disarmament as called for in the CPA. When the CPA was signed in 2005, the people of Kordofan were to vote on whether to join the north or the south, but the state governor suspended the process. Morning Star News said Sudan’s Interim National Constitution holds up sharia as a source of legislation, and the laws and policies of the government favour Islam, according to the U.S. State Department.
Source: ASSIST News Service
[ Top ]
NIGERIA: THE TERROR OF JIHAD
Up to 20 Christians were killed and dozens wounded recently in a twin suicide bombing at a Protestant Church inside the Jaji military barracks in Kaduna. Indications are that the bombers were residents of the barracks and might have built the bomb on site, which would explain why they were granted access to the church without being searched. This raises fears that other military establishments could be similarly targeted. Boko Haram gunmen also attacked the headquarters of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja, freeing 30 detainees and killing two policemen. In Boko Haram ¢â‚¬â„¢s own words, Nigeria is at war.
Another band of jihadists attacked Kupwal, a remote village in Chibok Local Government Area (LGA), some 160km south of the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri in Borno, Nigeria’s most north-eastern state. They invaded the Christian district and according to survivors entered ‘carefully selected’ homes, slitting the throats of the occupants. They then set fire to homes and sacked the whole neighbourhood to chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the greatest). At least 10 people were killed whilst dozens escaped with serious and life-threatening injuries. Observers believe Boko Haram was either responsible or at least complicit.
The next day 50 Islamists attacked a police station, Government offices and three churches in the predominantly Christian area of Gamboru Ngala, near the Cameroon border. Before launching their attack, in which 5 police were killed, they destroyed mobile phone masts to prevent communication. The churches were torched and Christians living in the town were targeted. Two weeks earlier, leaflets were distributed in which the Islamists announced the imposition of Taliban-style rule with women being told to wear the veil and cigarettes being banned. A tailor was shot for continuing to make clothing the Islamists deemed un-Islamic.
Sunday Oibe, spokesman for the northern group of the Christian Association of Nigeria, decried the continued attacks on Christians, which he said were not getting enough attention from the government. ¢â‚¬Å“What people get to hear is just a fraction of the attacks Christians are subjected to, ¢â‚¬ Oibe said. ¢â‚¬Å“It is unfortunate that when the Christian Association of Nigeria president comments on the issue, they accuse him of not being sensitive or raising false alarm. We cannot continue to keep quiet in the face of these provocative attacks. ¢â‚¬
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL —
* rise up on behalf of his traumatised and terrorised people and intervene to rout the enemy and deliver his Church. Pray that He would bring healing and comfort to his bleeding, broken and grieving people; may He provide all their needs and make His loving presence felt so as to sustain their sorely-tested faith, that they might be ‘more than conquerors through Him who loved us’.
* give the Nigerian authorities divine wisdom and insight, strength and commitment that they might excel in their battle against the enemies of the state and the enemies of the Lord. Pray that He will re-assure the church in northern Nigeria of His protection. Pray that the church in the south, and indeed the rest of the world, join this battle by praying for the north.
* bless every Nigerian missionary and every witnessing Nigerian with divine courage and power from the Holy Spirit, for this is first and foremost a spiritual struggle.
Source: Religious Liberty Commission
[ Top ]
NEW GAY-FRIENDLY MOSQUE TESTS ISLAM’S TOLERANCE IN PARIS
Europe’s first homosexual friendly mosque has opened in a Paris suburb, challenging Islam’s long tradition of condemning same-sex relationships. The mosque, set up inside the house of a Buddhist monk, welcomes transgender and transsexual Muslims and seats men and women together, breaking with another custom where the sexes are normally segregated during prayer. Its founder, a French-Algerian gay activist and practicing Muslim Ludovic Zahed, will also encourage women to lead Friday prayers, smashing yet another taboo. “It’s a radically inclusive mosque. A mosque where people can come as they are,” said Zahed.
It ¢â‚¬â„¢s prayer space is the first in Europe to formally brand itself as a gay-friendly mosque. The mosque, which for now will be limited to Friday prayer sessions, is opening as religious leaders in France, including senior Muslims, are fighting plans by the Socialist government to legalize same-sex marriage. Zahed decided there was a need for a gay-friendly prayer space as membership of his fledgling association “Homosexual Muslims of France” rose to 325 people from just six people when he founded it two years ago. The prayer leader at Zahed’s mosque said hostility to homosexuals prompted many to quit the faith.
“France sorely lacks a space like this,” said the 38-year-old, asking not to be named. Zahed’s mosque is not supported by any formal Muslim institution and many imams in France oppose it. The Muslim world tends to be more hostile to homosexuality than Judaism or Christianity. “We know that homosexual Muslims exist but opening a mosque is an aberration,” said Abdallah Zekri, who monitors anti-Muslim attacks for France’s Muslim council. Paris Mosque Rector Dalil Boubakeur said Zahed’s project would stand “outside the community”.
“We do not point the finger at homosexuals, but neither can we give them recognition in our community,” Boubakeur said. ¢â‚¬Å“Most Muslims interpret the Koran as forbidding homosexuality ¢â‚¬ he added. President Francois Hollande’s plan to legalize same sex marriage is proving highly divisive in a country that is mainly Catholic, though home also to 5 million Muslims. Zahed, who believes he is the first Muslim in France to be joined to a same-sex partner in a symbolic ceremony conducted by an imam, says gays or transsexuals who feel their sexuality is conspicuous can struggle to blend in at regular mosques.
There are currently a handful of gay-friendly mosques in Canada, South Africa and the United States, Zahed believes he is pushing a new boundary in France by providing a haven for homosexuals. “The goal of these Muslims is to promote a form of Islam that is inclusive of progressive values,” said Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, an associate researcher at France’s Research and Studies Institute on the Arab and Muslim World. The push by homosexual Muslims for acceptance comes as a younger generation of Muslims is questioning some of the existing interpretations of the Koran as over-conservative.
Source: Charisma News
[ Top ]
MORE POWER MORE PERSECUTION IN EGYPT
Christian human-rights analysts warn the expanded powers given to the Egyptian Government by the newly approved constitution means more Christian persecution to come. Middle East analyst Theodore Shoebat has also expressed concern. ¢â‚¬Å“In order for us to comprehend how Christians will be eventually persecuted under a Muslim Brotherhood run Egypt, we must look to North Sudan, also run by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Omar al-Bashir, ¢â‚¬ he said. ¢â‚¬Å“Bashir has committed a genocide of millions of Christians in the name of jihad and like Morsi, he believes that the Quran must be the constitution of his country, ¢â‚¬ Shoebat said.
Shoebat said he believes Morsi will follow the model of al-Bashir. He said a hint of Morsi ¢â‚¬â„¢s future intentions was revealed when he refused to attend the investiture ceremony of the new Coptic Pope Tawadros II. International Christian Concern ¢â‚¬â„¢s Middle East analyst Aidan Clay noted the Coptic pope made good on his threat to pull out of the Constituent Assembly. At least 12 liberals withdrew from the Constituent Assembly ¢â‚¬“ the 100 member body which was tasked with drafting Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s new constitution. This followed the departure of five Christian representatives days earlier, because they were not given fair representation, ¢â‚¬ Clay said.
Shoebat also said there will no longer be any barriers to an all-out persecution of the Christians. ¢â‚¬Å“The Christians will be massacred by orders from the state itself, and will be happily done not only by government officers and soldiers, but by the Egyptian people themselves. Egypt will not only be ruled under full dictatorship, but also by mob rule, ¢â‚¬ Shoebat said. Clay added that on the legal front, Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s institutions are moving steadily into the firm grip of the Muslim Brotherhood and its jihadist allies. The Assembly is now firmly in the hands of the jihadists.
¢â‚¬Å“Nearly all the representatives remaining in the assembly are Islamists from the Brotherhood and the more radical Salafis ¢â‚¬ Clay said. ¢â‚¬Å“It ¢â‚¬â„¢s becoming increasingly clear that the new constitution will not settle Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s transitional woes, as Islamists have emerged as the strongest political force and are quickly monopolizing power from the young revolutionaries who sparked Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s uprising, ¢â‚¬ Clay said. ¢â‚¬Å“Islamist parties, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, have already solidified control of the legislature, winning nearly 75 percent of the seats in parliamentary elections earlier this year, ¢â‚¬ Clay said.
Source: OpenHeaven.com
[ Top ]
BLACK PASTOR LEADS WHITE SUPREMIST TO GOD
The Lord Jesus said that although something may be impossible for man, “with God all things are possible.” This was the case recently when a small church in Columbia, Tennessee held a Community Giveaway, offering clothing, shoes, house wares, hot soup and stew for free to the needy in the area. One of those who came to the giveaway at New Life Church of God in Christ (COGIC) was a man named Clay, his fianc ƒ ©e and children. While they were there, Pastor Christopher Taylor had the opportunity to shake hands and talk with Clay.
A leader in a white supremacy group, Clay began to sense something going on in his heart as he spoke with Pastor Taylor. According to his testimony which he later shared with the congregation of New Life, Clay wrestled with the Lord all night, knowing God was calling him to be saved and even to join the ministry of the mostly Black New Life COGIC. The next day he was standing at the church door with his family, waiting for Pastor Taylor. He and his fianc ƒ ©e both prayed to receive the Lord and become members of New Life. They believe one day God will use them to help steer youth away from gang life.
Source: Charisma News
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CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL SERVES MUSLIM NEIGHBOURS IN EGYPT
A Christian hospital run by the Anglican Church ¢â‚¬”is challenging the inter-faith friction which has pitted Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s Christians against Muslims in sectarian disputes. Despite religious differences, people come from all over the region to be treated at the hospital due to its good reputation. Most of the patients are Muslim who prefer to go there because they trust the hospital. The Anglican bishop who oversees the hospital was quoted as saying it gave the doctors at the hospital the opportunity to show real and genuine Christian love and compassion to their Muslim neighbours.
Source: Christian Today
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Africa Rises, China Falls on Christian Persecution List
WASHINGTON ¢â‚¬” The persecution of Christians ¢â‚¬Å“vastly rose ¢â‚¬ in 2012 as radical Islamists consolidated power in Africa, according to Open Doors, a Christian missionary organization which publishes an annual list of offending nations.
Increasing threats to African Christians can be seen in focused attacks, such as the killings of Christians in Nigerian churches by the radical Muslim group Boko Haram, but also in the greater prevalence of radical Muslims in government, according to the California-based Open Doors.
In Mali, for example, which made the biggest leap on the ¢â‚¬Å“World Watch List, ¢â‚¬ from unranked in 2011 to No. 7 in 2012, a coup in the north brought fundamentalist Muslims to power.
¢â‚¬Å“The situation in the north used to be a bit tense, but Christians and even missionaries could be active, ¢â‚¬ said Open Doors spokesman Jerry Dykstra.
Now, he said, Christians there are in grave danger.
North Korea topped Open Doors ¢â‚¬â„¢ list for the eleventh year in a row, and was followed by Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. The group estimates that as many as 70,000 Christians are imprisoned in North Korea simply for being Christian, and the simple act of carrying a Bible can result in execution.
In neighboring China, the picture for Christians continues to improve, as that country slid from No. 21 in 2011 to No. 37 in 2012 ¢â‚¬” a stark difference from its Top 10 ranking five years ago.
More than 100 Chinese Christians still languish in prison, and the government still keeps close tabs on church officials, but ¢â‚¬Å“house searches, and the confiscation of Bibles and Christian books no longer occur on a large scale, ¢â‚¬ according to Open Doors.
Syria, now in the throes of a bloody revolution, became a country of particular concern for the group, which pegged it at No. 11 in 2012 and No. 36 the previous year, the report ¢â‚¬â„¢s second-biggest jump. Under President Bashar al-Assad, who is now waging a ruthless campaign against Syrian rebels, ¢â‚¬Å“Christians were allowed the freedom to worship but not evangelize, ¢â‚¬ according to Open Doors.
Ron Boyd-McMillan, chief strategy officer for the organization, said Syrian Christian have been hit with a ¢â‚¬Å“double whammy, ¢â‚¬ in that they are under pressure from rebels fighting against the regime and from radical jihadists entered Syria with an anti-Christian agenda.
¢â‚¬Å“The good news in Syria is those Christians who are left behind are showing a great unity among different denominations, ¢â‚¬ Boyd-McMillan said. ¢â‚¬Å“The suffering has drawn them together. ¢â‚¬
Lauren Markoe writes for Religion News Service. Via RNS.
http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/01/08/africa-rises-china-falls-christian-persecution-list/
~~
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 192 | Wed 09 Jan 2013
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BURMA (MYANMAR): JUNTA ESCALATES WAR AGAINST CHRISTIAN KACHIN
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by Elizabeth Kendal
Kachin State in Burma’s far north has a profoundly Christian culture as
the ethnic Kachin are overwhelmingly, devoutly Christian. The fact that
Kachin State, which borders China, is rich in jade, timber and water for
hydro-electricity is of more interest to Burma’s Burman-Buddhist
supremacist regime. The regime, which has no interest in the Kachin as
human beings, is very interested in exploiting Kachin lands for the
benefit of the Burman-Buddhist majority. The deeply flawed constitution of
2008 mandates centralisation of government and military against the
interests and wishes of the long-marginalised and severely persecuted
ethnic-religious minorities. In early June 2011 the junta used the Kachin
Army’s refusal to disarm, dissolve and become part of the National Army as
grounds to end the 17-year-long ceasefire and go to war against the
Kachin. The junta’s aim is that the Christian Kachin will be terrorised
into submission or otherwise they will be ethnically cleansed from their
lands. This would be doubtless under a banner of ‘democracy’, for it is
indeed what the majority of the ‘elected’ but junta-controlled parliament
wants. [See RLPB 115 (06 Jul 2011) – Burma (Myanmar): Kachin Flee in
Terror.]
In November 2011 Western governments flocked to praise and reward Burma
for its ‘irreversible reforms’. However, Religious Liberty Monitoring
asserted that the ‘token reforms’ were nothing more than a smokescreen
‘behind which [the junta] can pursue its brutal policies of racial and
religious hatred; policies aimed at the subjugation and even extermination
of the non-Burman, non-Buddhist ethnic minorities that live around Burma’s
periphery’. The concern was that the West was so keen to draw Burma out of
China’s embrace into its own that it might be willing to ‘reward the
tokens while ignoring the genocide’. [See Burma (Myanmar): Interests,
Smokescreens, Chemical Weapons & Ethnic Cleansing, Religious Liberty
Monitoring (RLM), 2 Nov 2011.]
These days it is difficult to tell whether the government of President
Thein Sein in Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma, is a powerless front put
forward by the military junta for Western consumption, or a chameleon that
changes its colours according to the direction it is facing. As many as
100,000 Kachin are now displaced and the same regime that boasts reform
continues to deny humanitarian aid to areas under Kachin control.
Consequently 2013 brings with it the prospect of humanitarian catastrophe.
Also, while facing the West the government has been calling for military
restraint, but the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) actually has been
escalating its war against the Kachin. Laiza is a stronghold of and the
headquarters for the Kachin Independence Organisation / Army (KIO / KIA).
More than 15,000 displaced Kachin are sheltered there, struggling to
survive despite the junta-imposed aid blockade. In efforts to encircle
Laiza, the Tatmadaw has established a base at Lajayang, just 20km (8
miles) from the strategic city. Recently the KIA seized control of the
road running from the state capital Myitkyina to Lajayang, cutting the
Tatmadaw’s supply line. On Christmas Day the junta ordered the KIA to
clear the road so the Tatmadaw could re-supply. Naturally the Kachin Army
refused to stand aside and let its enemy re-supply for war. The junta has
responded with aerial bombardment from fighter jets, strafing from
helicopter gunships and mortar shelling. Initially the Burmese government
denied that it had been bombing and strafing the Kachin. Later it amended
its story, saying that the on-going aerial bombardment was an act of ‘self-
defence’ for the purpose of maintaining security and stability. In Laiza
the Kachin are digging trenches and bomb shelters. There are fears a
ground invasion or a state of siege may be imminent.
MP Aung San Suu Kyi said she would not intervene without an official
invitation from the government. The truth is Suu Kyi had far more power as
a political prisoner with nothing to lose than she has now as a lawmaker
anxious to preserve her position in parliament. Furthermore, Suu Kyi
actually wants what the junta wants: centralised government with the
minority Kachin represented in the parliament. But the Kachin know they
would be swallowed up in a junta-controlled parliament (just as Suu Kyi
has been) through the clever strategy of the junta. The Christian Kachin
will defend their lands and continue to press for autonomy, because their
lives and liberty depend on it. Thankfully it is their God and ours – who
is not subservient to any junta – who has power to save. In God we trust!
(Psalm 56.)
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL –
* hear the cry of his besieged and imperilled people, and hear our cry as
we intercede on their behalf; may the Lord of Hosts (the commander of
heaven’s forces) intervene for his beloved ones in justice and
righteousness and in love, mercy and grace. ‘This I know, that God is
for me.’ (Psalm 56:9b)
* intervene in foreign policy, opening eyes and piercing consciences so
that the junta might be exposed and held accountable; so that it might
no longer be able to persecute, kill, rape and plunder with impunity
born of ‘interests’.
* supply the Christian Kachin with all their needs, spiritually and
materially, that they will praise God for his goodness, and that many
will see it and believe.
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
——————————
BURMA (MYANMAR) JUNTA ESCALATES WAR AGAINST KACHIN
The Kachin Army is defending the lands and rights of the Christian ethnic
Kachin in Kachin State against Burma’s Burman-Buddhist supremacist junta.
This year brings with it the prospect of a humanitarian catastrophe
because as many as 100,000 Kachin are now displaced and the regime
continues to deny humanitarian aid to areas under Kachin control. The
Burmese military has Laiza (the Kachin headquarters) virtually besieged,
running a base only 20km away. Since Christmas Day Kachin positions close
to Laiza have suffered aerial bombardment, strafing from helicopter
gunships and mortar shelling. A ground invasion or state of siege may be
imminent. MP Aung San Suu Kyi says she will not intervene without regime
approval. It is God, however, who has power to save. In God we trust!
(Psalm 56.)
——————————
UPDATE TO RLPB 191 (2 January).
IRAN: After being taken into custody on Christmas Day, Pastor Youcef
Nadarkhani was released from prison on 7 January. Christians Rash Behzad
Taalipasand and Mohammadreza (Johann) Omidi, arrested in Rasht on 31
December, remain in custody as does Pastor Vruir Avanessian, an ethnic
Armenian arrested while celebrating Christmas with converts on 27
December. Pastor Avanessian requires dialysis for chronic kidney disease.
He is being held in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison.
——————–
To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives,
visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at
http://rlprayerbulletin.
——————–
We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might
also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their
worship by people who are leading in prayer.
This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious
Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international
religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.
Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
‘Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today’ (Deror Books,
Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/
Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam
and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of
Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.
If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly
issues direct by sending a blank email to <[email protected]>.
AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER
AUSTRALIAN COPTIC GROUP REJECTS AN ISLAMIC DICTATORSHIP IN EGYPT
Editor ¢â‚¬â„¢s note: This article is a statement issued on behalf of Coptic Australians in relation to the new Egyptian constitution which was recently ratified in a national referendum by a 63.8% majority of the votes cast. As such the article specifically expresses the views of the Australian Coptic Movement. Since the issuance of the statement and the ratification of the new constitution the absolute powers mentioned in the statement which were previously claimed by President Morsi have been cancelled.
¢â‚¬Å“Egypt’s President Morsi recently issued a decree virtually giving himself absolute power in post revolutionary Egypt. Whilst claiming to be a ¢â‚¬Ëœprotector ¢â‚¬â„¢ of the revolution, his new broad ranging powers mean that he cannot be challenged on any decision he makes. The declaration denies even judicial oversight powers against the President; in a nutshell President Morsi has basically set himself up as a dictator. The Australian Coptic Movement Association (ACM) rejects such moves and sees them as an opportunistic move to capitalise on western praise following the Egyptian brokered cease fire between Hamas and Israel.
Those who gave up their lives on the 25th January 2011, both Muslim and Copt, did not do so to turn Egypt into a fundamentalist Islamic nation. Furthermore, President Morsi promised to be a president for all Egyptians, however it is clear that he only represents the whims of the Muslims Brotherhood and ignores the rest of the Egyptian population. Since the Egyptian Revolution of the 25th January 2012 the Egyptian transitional government led by the military and subsequently under President Morsi continue to engage in and tolerate systematic and ongoing violations of freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Serious problems of discrimination, intolerance, and other human rights violations against members of religious minorities remain widespread in Egypt. The government has failed to protect the Coptic minority. This high level of violence and the failure to convict those responsible continues to promote a climate of impunity, giving a green light for further attacks as well as encourage the ongoing phenomena of the disappearance of Coptic girls such as the case of 14 year old Sarah Malak who despite many requests has not been returned to her family. Even the newly enthroned Coptic Pope Tawadros II has been advocating for Sarah to no avail.
We note that on 04/09/2012 Senator Bob Carr met with President Morsi and Foreign Minister Kamel Amron in Cairo. During this visit Senator Carr noted the concerns of Australia ¢â‚¬â„¢s large Coptic community. Since then Prime Minister Julia Gillard also met with Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s president on 26/09/2012, just prior to Australia gaining its historic UN seat. Australia ¢â‚¬â„¢s seat on the UN Security Council presents a valuable opportunity to uphold Australian values of justice and freedom especially since these were the main goals of the Egyptian revolution. The revolution has since been hijacked by Islamists and President Morsi.
The majority of members who drafted Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s new constitution hailed from the Islamists parties. The constitution does not represent the cultural, religious, ethnic, and political diversity of Egyptian society. Furthermore, the constitution fails to uphold the objectives of the January 25th Revolution and undermines the values of citizenship, equality, freedom, and human rights. The constitution that has been ratified leaves the door wide open to the creation of a religious state and contradicts the initial objective of the Egyptian Revolution of the 25th January 2011 which called for freedom and social justice for all. ¢â‚¬
Source: Australian Coptic Movement
U.S. ABORTION RATE FALLING
America ¢â‚¬â„¢s abortion rate has recorded the largest single-year drop since the federal government started tracking data on the procedure. The figures released by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that the abortion rate dropped from 15.9 to 15.1 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age to less than 800,000 total abortions for the first time since records have been kept. The rate of abortions has been declining since the 1980s, but these were the steepest declines seen in a single year.
There are many possible reasons for the declines in abortion. Pro-choice groups point to expanding use of contraceptives, including highly reliable products such as oral contraceptives, long-lasting hormonal products and intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Use of contraceptives is likely to keep growing: President Obama ¢â‚¬â„¢s Affordable Care Act already requires private insurers to provide birth control for free, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has recommended that oral contraceptives be sold over-the-counter, like condoms and pregnancy tests.
Another potential reason is the decline in the number of abortion providers. The number of places providing abortions has fallen from nearly 3,000 to 1,800, meaning that 87% of U.S. counties lack an abortion provider according to a Guttmacher Institute report on U.S. abortion incidence. Laws regulating abortion clinics are also a factor. A new Mississippi law, for instance, threatens to close the state ¢â‚¬â„¢s only abortion clinic unless all its staff acquire local hospital-admitting privileges. Other laws reducing abortion include those requiring women to undergo pre-abortion ultrasounds, which often dissuade them from having the procedure.
Other new laws disallow most abortions for pregnancies that are 20 weeks along or older, owing to the likelihood the foetus would feel pain in the abortion; and requiring physicians to be in the same room while prescribing drugs to induce abortions, thus lessening the use of ¢â‚¬Å“distance ¢â‚¬ abortion or telemedicine. Pro-life groups say abortion is also decreasing in part because more people are identifying as pro-life. Polling data show that more Americans are embracing life, celebrating motherhood and parenthood, and ¢â‚¬Å“see a baby as a blessing ¢â‚¬ said Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman for Americans United for Life.
According to Guttmacher studies, common reasons for having an abortion are because women think having a baby would be too costly and change their lives too ¢â‚¬Å“dramatically. ¢â‚¬ Other top reasons are a desire not to be a single mother, a desire not to add another child to her family, and lack of support from the father of the child researchers say. Give thanks to the Lord that the abortion rate continues to drop. Pray that this unrighteous procedure will be proclaimed as illegal and that all murder of innocent life will cease in the United States. Pray that God ¢â‚¬â„¢s creation will have the opportunity to live and enjoy life as God intended.
Source: Intercessors for America
UGANDA’S PRESIDENT PUBLICLY REPENTS
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni made history when he openly repented of his sins and the sins of Uganda at a national prayer gathering in Uganda. Following is the text of Museveni’s repentance speech:
Father God in Heaven, today we stand here as Ugandans, to thank you for Uganda. We are proud that we are Ugandans and Africans. We thank you for all Your goodness to us. I stand here today to close the evil past ¢â‚¬”especially in the last 50 years of our national leadership history. We are at the threshold of a new dispensation in the life of this nation. I stand here on my own behalf and on behalf of my predecessors to repent. We ask for Your forgiveness. We confess these sins that have greatly hampered our national cohesion and delayed our political, social and economic transformation.
We confess sins of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood, sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal. Forgive us of sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression and exploitation; sins of rebellion, insubordination, strife and conflict.
These and other sins have characterized the last 50 years of our history. Lord forgive us and give us a new beginning. Give us a heart to love You, to fear You and to seek You. Take away from us all the above sins. We pray for national unity and the elimination of all forms of conflict, sectarianism and tribalism. Help us to see that we are all Your children. Help us to love and respect one another and to appreciate unity in diversity. We pray for prosperity and transformation. Deliver us from ignorance, poverty and disease. As leaders, give us wisdom to help lead our people into political, social and economic transformation.
We want to dedicate this nation to You so that You will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfil Psalm 33:12: ‘Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord. A people You have chosen as Your own.’ I renounce all the evil foundations and covenants that were laid in idolatry and witchcraft. I renounce all the satanic influence on this nation. And I hereby covenant Uganda to You, to walk in Your ways and experience all Your blessings forever. I pray for all these in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Source: New Vision
BRITISH WANT CHRISTIANITY TAUGHT TO THEIR CHILDREN
We are often given the impression that teaching about Jesus and His message is old-fashioned and irrelevant to a modern generation. But a poll released by Oxford University shows that many people value the Christian framework according to Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern. ¢â‚¬Å“There is widespread support in England for teaching Christianity in schools ¢â‚¬ Ms Williams said. Some 64% of the more than 1,800 people questioned said that children need to learn about Christianity to understand English history, while 57% said it was important for pupils to understand the English culture and way of life.
The poll also revealed that more than two-fifths (43%) of the adults surveyed said that more attention should be given to teaching about Christianity in RE lessons. More than half (51%) also said they felt Christianity distinguishes right from wrong. But just over a third (37%) said they believe that many RE teachers do not know enough about Christianity to be able to teach it effectively. Andrea Williams welcomed the findings: “It is striking that so much of the public sees the need for Christianity to be taught properly. This survey shows that many people value the Christian framework. ¢â‚¬
Ms Williams said “This is not surprising, given that our society is increasingly confused about a basis for moral decisions, for human dignity and for community. Jesus is the personal basis for this, as well as the foundation for so much of our nation’s culture and history.” The poll was commissioned by Oxford University’s Department of Education as part of a new project to support the teaching of Christianity in RE lessons, following concerns from inspectors and other quarters about how the subject is taught in schools.
Source: Christian Concern
MUSLIMS THREATEN CHURCHES IN WEST SUMATRA
Although the dust from the persecution of minority Shiite Muslims in Sampang, Madura, has not settled, another religious controversy has emerged, this time in West Pasaman, West Sumatra. A mob numbering in the hundreds and grouped under the banner of the Islamic Organizations Communication Forum (FKOI) turned their attention to two churches in Western Sumatra. Those in the crowd threatened to use force to stop the congregations from building additional structures in their compounds, nailing wooden boards outside the churches.
However, the mob was not able to come too close to the houses of worship, which were guarded by nearly 200 police officers and Indonesian Military (TNI) troops. The Local authority, Regent Baharuddin, said that he would ensure the safety of all religious followers to perform divine services. ¢â‚¬Å“I assure you, not a single stone will be thrown at other religious followers in West Pasaman ¢â‚¬ Baharuddin told The Jakarta Post by telephone. Baharuddin ¢â‚¬â„¢s support for religious freedom was tempered by his support for the protestors, who had previously forced several cafes they said were selling alcoholic drinks to close.
A spokesman for the protestors Achmad Namlis, said his group ¢â‚¬â„¢s efforts were made only to remind the churches to obtain permits before launching new construction projects. ¢â‚¬Å“This is not the tyranny of the majority. We ¢â‚¬â„¢ll let the Christians perform their rituals as long as they don ¢â‚¬â„¢t breach regulations, ¢â‚¬ Achmad, who is the chairman of the local Muhammadiyah chapter, said. Rev. Bernard, a pastor at one of the churches, said that two Islamic organizations had rejected the permit he applied for three years ago. ¢â‚¬Å“We will soon prepare the documents to get the permit, ¢â‚¬ Bernard said.
Source: The Jakarta Post
CHURCH HELPS MAKE DREAM COME TRUE FOR HOMELESS COUPLE
Dante White and his girlfriend Nhiahni Chestnut were in love. The 28-year-old Dante longed to be married but one thing held him back. They were both homeless. Dante has lived on the streets of Washington DC since the age of 14, when he was kicked out of home. Nhiahni had battled drug and alcohol addiction which had ultimately left her in the same place. The two met and something clicked. They stayed close and looked out for each other, often attending a Bible study program presented by their local Episcopal Church. A few months later at a Bible study, Dante revealed his desire to marry Nhiahni, if only he had the money to do it.
Caring parishioners banded together to provide everything needed for a beautiful wedding. One person managed flowers, another helped with the wedding rings. One woman made the cake, someone helped with the tux and another with the bride’s gown. A honeymoon at a local hotel was added, and before long, Nhiahni and Dante found themselves standing in Church saying their vows. “This is beyond my wildest dreams,” remarked Nhiahni, “this is exactly how I wanted my wedding to be.” The church is reportedly also looking at helping with housing, so the newlyweds don’t have to continue living on the dangerous DC streets.
Source: Intercessors Network
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