The threatening fax came to a VOM-affiliated office just days before two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were sentenced to 12 years hard labor for allegedly crossing the border into North Korea. It came just one day after the latest round of faxes sent by VOM to North Korean fax numbers.
“This fax is good news,” said Todd Nettleton, VOM’s director of Media Development and the author of a book on the history of Christianity in North Korea. “This means that the faxes are getting through, and they are being read. It is highly unlikely that this type of response would have been made from an embassy without some approval from Pyongyang.” Read the full story here.
As most of us know, President Obama is going to give a major speech in Cairo tomorrow. Because he will be addressing the Muslim nation as a whole, many people are calling on Obama to address the issue of Christian persecution.
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It has been a few days since I've updated you on what is happening with Gao. I've been working on a video, but ran into some snags, so maybe I'll have that up in a week or so...we'll see.
In the meantime, today is day 93 that Gao has been in custody with the Chinese government, and as of the time of this writing we have 64,167 people who have signed the petition to help Free Gao. So if you haven't had time yet to sign it, please visit http://www.freegao.com and also check out the videos of what's been happening with the other petitions that were already brought to those in positions of power to do something.
When one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer. Please also remember to pray for Gao and his precious wife and children.
On Feb. 22, the Taliban attacked six churches, burned several Christian homes and four Bibles and injured children in Karachi, Pakistan, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.
Eye witnesses reported the Taliban shouting, "Accept Islam, Accept Islam, LA ILAHA ILL ALLAH MUHAMMADUR RASOOL ALLAH," meaning there is no god, only Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. The churches that were attacked are, Christ United Church, Philadelphia Pentecostal Church, ARP Church, Salvation Army Church and two public churches.
The Voice of the Martyrs supports persecuted believers in Pakistan. Pray for the believers who were injured in this attack and those who lost their homes. Ask God to encourage and protect believers in Pakistan who continue to stand for Him despite persecution
On March 28, Hamoud Bin Saleh, a Saudi Christian arrested in January for writing about his conversion from Islam and criticizing the Saudi kingdom's crackdown on individual rights, was released from prison, according to Compass Direct News.
Saleh is reportedly forbidden to travel outside the country or appear in the media. In a recent post on his blog, Saleh attributed his release to several human rights groups that campaigned on his behalf. "A nation which lives in this system cannot guarantee the safety of its individuals," he blogged, according to Compass Direct.
In Saudi Arabia the penalty for converting from Islam, also called apostasy, is death. Still, in recent years, there have been no known cases of Saudis formally been convicted and sentenced to death. The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for Saleh. Ask God to protect him and encourage him to remain strong in his faith.
On Feb. 25, 27-year old Hossein Karimi was released from prison after placing his home as collateral, according to Farsi Christian Network News (FCNN).
Hossein, a new convert, had been arrested on charges of attending home churches, evangelizing, storing Bibles and converting to the Christian faith, FCNN reported.
Hossein was arrested by Iranian secret police on Jan. 30 and was held for 27 days in an unknown location until his release. He’s now waiting for the courts to give him a scheduled date to appear to present his case.
Prior to this recent incident, Hossein was arrested in November 2008. According to FCNN, he was taken into custody, fingerprinted and photographed. He was then released after four days on bail with a consent that he would no longer participate in any Christian activities.
Praise God for Hossein’s faithfulness to the Lord and his release. The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for him. Ask God to protect him as the Iranian government will be watching him closely. Pray he will continue to stand for Christ.
HATS off to Hillary. On the last day of her maiden trip in Asia, she was frank about the how hard she would push the Chinese on human rights.
"Our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis," she said, adding that Washington "knew what the Chinese were going to say" on the issue.
She went on to emphasise the economic partnership between the US and China, who "are truly going to rise or fall together" and urged the Chinese to continue buying US treasury bonds.
For me, this raises an issue - or shall I say, actually highlights an issue. What we are looking at is the value of humanity who are being persecuted, tortured in many cases, and abused - versus - the global economy and the importance of money. I find this interesting, and I'm not the only one.
Dear Secretary Clinton:
I write to share my dismay, also voiced by a number of leading human rights organizations, at your comments during your recent Asia trip indicating that human rights will not be a priority in your engagement with China. These statements come on the heels of the U.S. failing to participate in the United Nations review of the human rights record of China, among other worst offenders. Both are deeply troubling commentary on this administration’s commitment to human rights, and are undoubtedly disheartening for scores of Chinese citizens, including the imprisoned Catholic bishops, persecuted house church leaders and repressed Tibetan Buddhists.
What do you think of Hillary's position on human rights abuses in China? Please leave us a comment below. All comments are moderated.
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I love it when I find a piece of news where The Voice of the Martyrs is highlighted, and one such piece is named Being a True Follower of Christ Requires Self Sacrifice by Thad Moore
The joy of Christianity comes when you lose your life to follow the will of God. Casual commitment to God, his church and a Christian lifestyle is foreign to biblical Christianity.
Consider these stories found in "The Voice of the Martyrs," a reliable source for information on persecuted Christians.
On Nov. 12, two Christian sisters were killed and their mother wounded by a gang of Islamic extremists in the Al Qahira section of Mosul, Iraq, according to "Voice of the Martyrs" contacts.
The gunmen shot one of the sisters as she was waiting for a bus outside her home. The men then stormed into the home, killed the other sister and injured the mother. A bomb placed by the assailants at the entrance of the house detonated as police arrived on the scene, injuring several officers.
