The following news byte is from our friends at Mission Network News.

Mohammad Abbad and his wife fled after he was attacked by Muslim militants in Jordan. (VOMC photo) Jordan (MNN) ― A Jordanian man has fled to Europe and applied for asylum there after being asked to renounce his Christian faith, according to a Voice of the Martyrs Canada report.

40-year-old Mohammad Abbad was attacked by Muslim militants earlier this year which put him in the hospital for a night. While there, he was handcuffed to his bed. Abbad's son and another Muslim convert to Christianity were also victims of the attack. During Abbad's stay in the hospital, his own father submitted charges of apostasy against him.

Just a few days after that attack, Abbad was asked to renounce his faith in a court hearing. He refused and fled the country the next day with his Jordanian Christian wife. Since then, his next hearing was postponed because of his absence, but his father is now applying for custody for the children while Abbad and his wife are out of the country.

The couple moved about in several Arab countries for about two weeks and are now in a European country hoping for asylum. The government is in the process of annulling the Christian couple's marriage, awaiting the delivery of their marriage certificate from Abbad's father.

In Jordan, Christians and Jews are allowed to worship as long as they do not try to convert Muslims. Converts are usually still considered Muslim by the government and report social and government discrimination.

Compass Direct released this news story today and as I read through the account and even how the police initially reacted when the Pastor tried to file a report with them about his daughter's rape it is hard not to feel outraged. 

According to the Compass Direct release the police initially said it was a "false case" and "fabricated drama" as well as using filthy language when addressing the young girl who was gang raped.  After pressured by others the police finally filed the rape report.

Elina Das, the victim of this horrific crime, is the only Christian in her school and is constantly harassed because of her family and their Christian faith and service.  Elina's father believes his daughter was raped as a way to get him and his family to stop sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in that area.

Compass Direct writes of the father,

Das, who became the first Christian in the area in 1986 and has been key in an increase to more than 250 Christians and the emergence of 12 churches, said the brutal attack was pre-planned and calculated to stop further expansion of Christianity in northern Bangladesh.

Please keep Elina and her family in your prayers daily.  And pray also for her attackers and those who are coming against the gospel that they would receive Jesus and have their lives changed.

Earlier this week Compass Direct posted a news story about another church in Turkey  being threatened by armed men.  Here's the beginning of the CD article...

ISTANBUL, May 7 (Compass Direct News) – Three men, one of them armed with a gun and wearing gloves, threatened a Protestant church and its pastor in the Turkish capital city of Ankara yesterday. The culprits fled in a car before police could be summoned.

The attempted attack marked the seventh incident in the past four months of threatened violence against Turkey’s tiny Protestant community, most of whom are former Muslims who converted to Christianity.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday (May 6), three men drove up in a blue car to the Kurtulus Church in Ankara’s Cebeci district. A heavy-set man about 45 years old went up to the locked church building and began to ring the doorbell repeatedly.

“Where is the pastor? We are searching for the pastor,” he said to a church member nearby who was cleaning his car.

The article continues by describing how the man acted when he spoke to a member of the church who was there waiting for a friend.

Please remember the Christians in Turkey in your prayers.  They are continually under threat from Muslims and others who deny Christ and wish they were not there.

If all mankind had been righteous and only one man a sinner, Christ would have come to endure the same cross for this one man. He so loves every individual.

ST. AUGUSTINE

UPDATED:  Via Drudge: Aid workers fear death toll in Burma may top 50,000

The news for the devastation in Burma continues to roll in, some experts are saying that the death toll may top 250,000.  Christian aid agencies and others are doing their best to get to  the scene of devastation with relief supplies, however some are saying that the aid coming in is too slow.

Please keep this horrible situation in your prayers.

For other news on this story see:

Aid: Only friendly nations welcome, says Burma

Laura Bush criticises Burma's cyclone warning

Bush offers more help for Burma

On May 11, 2005 Evangelist Girmay Ambaye, was arrested by security police in Eritrea for witnessing about Christ to people on a city bus. It is the third time Ambaye has been imprisoned for his faith in the last few years. Please send a letter of encouragement and let Evangelist Ambaye know that you are praying for him and other persecuted believers in Eritrea. Let your friends know about the suffering Christians in Eritrea and encourage them to pray and write to Ambaye. Your letters make a difference sometimes resulting in shorter prison sentences. Write to Evangelist Ambaye today and let him know you are praying for him. Write today by clicking here http://www.prisoneralert.com </a>

I am not sure how many of you have heard this terrible news, but there has been a tremendous tragedy in the nation of Burma, also known as Myanmar.  You may also not be aware but the Christian population of Burma is estimated at about 4%, mostly being Baptists and Catholics. And we have mentioned the persecution of Christians there before.

However, today I just wanted to bring to your attention this terrible tragedy as some reports are saying that around 10,000 people have been killed by a very serious cyclone.

The areas that have been declared a disaster zone include the city of Rangoon and five central and southern states, Yangon, Ayeyawaddy, Bago, Mon and Karen.

Other coverage:

World Vision Responds to the Tragedy in Burma

Postcyclone challenge for Burma: Deliver relief fast

Coverage from ReliefWeb

Coverage from Reuters

UPDATED 5/8 - I just wanted to come in here and give you an update on the conference.  Yesterday my husband and I received news that the airline we were using to get to Oklahoma cancelled our flights, and in order to reroute our trip to Oklahoma at this late date the cost is way to high.  We prayed about what we should do, and it appears right now that we will not be going to the conference afterall.  However, you should still go!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you seen the new poll question that is highlighted on the main The Voice of the Martyrs website?  If you haven't, let me tell you the question.

And now for some great news - My husband and I will both be attending this wonderful conference, and I would love to be able to meet any of the persecution bloggers or readers who will be attending.

Please let us know if you'll be coming in the comments.  And if you want to learn more about the conference click here and to take the poll online click here.

I read a great article today that I wanted to share with you because I think the writer effectively deals with the subject of Christian persecution and how so few in the mainstream media and even in the Church seem to address the issue.

The article can be read in full at The Bulletin.  Here is the section on Christian persecution I'd like you to read.

Worldwide Persecution Of Christians

I'd also like to address some of the other great, but neglected issues of our time. One that has captured my imagination is the persecution of some 200 million Christians worldwide, which is incredible on many counts. First, here we have the world's majority religion, over 2 billion strong, being subjected to some incredible discrimination and persecution involving everything from economic discrimination to torture and death. Second, this persecuted group has received little help or attention from the world and has even been neglected and often ignored altogether even by major Christian religious organizations. That strikes me as one of the incredible aspects of this story. Third, this is a subject largely neglected by the media, which, if it were doing its job, could call attention to the problem and perhaps start bringing about action and solutions.

I am shocked by the fact that this problem has been recognized and documented by books, at conferences and by observers for many years, all complaining of the plight of the persecuted Christians and urging action, yet almost nothing has been done.

One wise observer pointed out that abused dogs get more attention than persecuted Christians. You have to ask: Why is their more public attention and media coverage of the alleged abuse of Ellen DeGeneres' doggies than there was on the 45 million Christians killed for their faith across the 20th century and still being killed and persecuted at an increasing rate? Why was there more attention on Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick and his dog fighting ring than on the 200 million Christians now suffering persecution - bodily harm and the threat thereof - and various forms of harassment because of their religion? Why has the world, the U.S. and organized religion been relatively inactive on doing something to stop religious discrimination of any faith and of any kind, which is rampant in the world, especially in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia? Are morality, conscience and sanity unraveling worldwide? What's happening suggests the answer is "yes."

Why is the world neglecting this matter? There are all kinds of excuses but no acceptable reasons. It's time to get action and time to reject all excuses for inaction. To get better informed on the subject, you might read the leading book on the subject by Marshall and Gilbert, Their Blood Cries Out.

Right now, the Islamo-fascists are coming for all of us. So all of us should be speaking up and standing up now, before it is too late.

Sometime it's good to be reminded of the Faces of Persecution.