A church in the Middle East is being investigated for telling Muslims about Christianity. The pastor and other Christians at the church were questioned by police for teaching the Bible to Muslims who come to the church. Police insisted that the Christians brainwash Muslims and force them to convert. The pastor and church members gave authorities a signed statement, which will be considered as part of the ongoing investigation.
0 Comments
Pray for Kidnapped Christian Wael Adel Azizi iCommitToPray Wael Adel Azizi was kidnapped by Muslim extremists as he drove through Upper Egypt with his brother earlier this month. A group of armed men in a truck forced the brothers to stop and then took Wael with them. When Wael’s father later called Wael’s mobile phone, the kidnappers told him he needed to provide the equivalent of $250,000 or they would kill his son. Wael’s father reported the kidnapping to the police. The kidnapping of Christians has increased in Upper Egypt since the 2011 revolution. A VOM worker reports that Christians live under continual threat of kidnapping.
Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Syria who are coming under increasing pressure from Islamic State (IS) militants.
Hundreds of families have fled the Christian town of Sadad after IS captured nearby Al-Qaryatain and abducted 230 of its residents, including at least 60 Christians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said those abducted were on an IS 'wanted' list for 'collaborating with the regime', which could mean their lives are in danger. Some reports suggest some Christians have since been released. Many of the Christians abducted from Al-Qaryatain on August 6 had sought refuge in the town after fleeing from Aleppo in the north. IS militants also launched an attack on the Assyrian village of Hawwarin, causing about 2,000 Assyrian Christians to flee. In February, IS kidnapped up to 220 Assyrian Christians in the north-eastern province of Hassaka (Prayer Alert, February 25). Only a few have been released. Christians in IS-held territories have been confronted with stark choices: convert to Islam, flee or die.
Pray for Two Churches Attacked by Arsonists iCommitToPray Arsonists attacked two churches recently in different parts of Indonesia. The Indonesia Baptist Church was set ablaze in the early hours of July 20, and neighbors were able to extinguish the fire before it could spread. Police discovered that a burning tire had been thrown into the church’s front terrace. In another part of Indonesia that same morning, two entrances to the Javanese Christian Church were scorched by flames. Police found a note with the message, “A warning from Mujahedeen for Papua incident. Burn all churches throughout Java Island!” Police have increased security in both districts where the churches were burned.
A Christian family was forced to flee their home in Syria when Islamic militants raided their village. The militants took the family’s belongings, destroyed crosses and demolished their home. The family was among a group of 10 people who walked for days through the wilderness, eating grass to survive because there was no food. They finally arrived in another village approximately 15 miles away, where they met up with a VOM partner who has helped them get into shelter. The family has very little, but refused to give up their faith. Pray for the family, especially their children who are very discouraged by the living conditions.
Christian Family Awaits Word on Copt Kidnapped in Libya by Islamic State Affiliate Militants also Seize Christians from Nigeria Ghana July 23, 2015 By Our Middle East Correspondent Leave a Comment ISTANBUL, Turkey
Morning Star News As unconfirmed reports and rumors about the status of three Christians kidnapped in Libya by the Islamic State (IS) continue to spread in Egyptian media, a Coptic family waits in fear over the fate of their loved one. On Friday (July 17), an IS affiliate in Libya known as Islamic State, Barqa Province, announced that it had kidnapped three men, all of them Christians. As evidence of their claims, they released photographs of the three men and photographs of their passport cover pages. Bakhit Nageh Efrank Ebeid, 21, was traveling on July 10 in a 14-seat van from Alexandria, Egypt to Tripoli with a group of men, most of them Muslims from his hometown of Kom Badar, when IS militants stopped them in Sirte, Libya, according to Ezz Tawfik, a Coptic activist and journalist in Upper Egypt. Two other Christians, Adeola Ibrahim from Nigeria and Sekyere Kofi Frimpong from Ghana, were also in the van. “ISIS soldiers were there to search their car and check their passports,” said Tawfik, who is in close contact with the victim’s family. “They took all their passports, and saw his, and asked if he was a Christian, and he said ‘Yes.’ So they asked him to stand aside and released the Muslims who were in the same van.” The other two Christians were also taken captive. Later that day, some of those who were released called members of Ebeid’s family, who live in Tripoli, and reported the kidnapping. “His relatives didn’t know what to do, especially because his mother is sick, and such news might kill her, so they didn’t tell his family in Egypt,” Tawfik said. After IS announced the kidnapping, the family in Egypt became aware of the truth. Relatives decided to call Ebeid’s cell phone, but to their horror, an IS militant told them that they had beheaded the “infidel.” But in a subsequent call, the militants changed their story and told the family that Ebeid had to pay the Jizya tax on non-Muslims as ransom, or convert to Islam or be killed. When his family said they would pay the Jizya and asked how much it would be, they were told an amount was being decided, and then the phone connection went dead, according to family members. Despite several attempts, all subsequent efforts to contact the militants though the cell phone and determine a ransom amount were unsuccessful, according to Romany Nageh, Ebeid’s brother. “His phone is still working, but we were told [by authorities] not to call much because that might hurt him,” Nageh said. “But our relatives who live in Tripoli call the phone, and every time somebody answers they make fun of them and hang up.” The last time the family heard from Ebeid was on July 10, just before he crossed into Libya. “He did call his family on that day, when he was on his way to Libya and told his family that he was on his way, and that he is going with a group and it would be safe,” Tawfik said. No information has been publically available about the other two Christians taken captive. Untrue and often contradictory reporting in Egyptian media about Ebeid’s condition has exacerbated the family’s dread, Tawfik said. Several times in the past few days, some news outlets reported that a ransom amount had been set for Ebeid’s release, while others simultaneously stated that he had been killed. Family members said they have now turned to God, hoping that somehow against the multitude of conflicting reports, Ebeid is still alive and will survive the ordeal. “We put the whole situation in front of God, and after Him the authorities, the ministry of foreign affairs, and those who are in power,” Ebeid’s brother said. In addition to its sheer brutality, IS has become known for kidnapping Christians and then killing them in graphic videos. In February, an IS group in Libya released a video in which they beheaded 20 Egyptian Christians and one Christian from Ghana. All the men had been kidnapped at gunpoint in Sirte a little more than a month prior to the release of the video. Two months later, in April, IS released another video in which they killed approximately 30 Christians, all of them thought to be from Ethiopia. All were thought to be migrant workers. Keeping this in mind, Tawfik said, going to Libya for work might seem to be a quest for the insane. But for many people in Egypt and in Ebeid’s village, crushed by unrelenting poverty, the pull of any job is just too strong. For Ebeid – impoverished, uneducated, unemployed and engaged to be married for more than a year – there were three choices, his family said: Go to Libya, starve or become a thief. He took a chance trying to get to the relatively safer environs of Tripoli for better job opportunities. “His father said if it wasn’t for their extremely poor condition, his son wouldn’t have risked his life and gone. He wouldn’t have risked his life to travel,” Tawfik said. Before he visited Ebeid’s home, Tawfik said, he couldn’t understand why he would take the risk to leave. “I kept asking myself, why did he do that and go?” he said. “But when I went into their home, I thought, ‘If I were him, I would do the same to put food on the family table.’ He is working hard to support and prepare himself to marry his fiancée, and at the same time support his elderly parents. It is like those people who get on the boats to Italy, knowing that there is a big chance that they will die, but because they have nothing in their country, risk it anyway.” If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that that can orient you on how to get involved. If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/donate/? ### © 2015 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News. Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription or to make tax-deductible donations, contact editor@morningstarnews.org, or send check to Morning Star News, 34281 Doheny Park Rd., # 7022, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624, USA. |
Prayer Blog We Can Help Others
With Our Prayers. Submit Yours, Pictures, Music, All of Your Loving Here. This Is A Community Effort; We Work in His Name. Prayers will be published, unedited; if you prefer to remain anonymous, please let us know. Scripture on the Prayer Page
Utilizes: New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Archives
June 2020
|