Young man accused after argument with his landlord.

LAHORE, Pakistan, January 30 (CDN) — A judge has denied bail to a young Christian man charged with desecrating the Quran under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws despite the lack of evidence against him, sources said.
 
Police in Shahdara, near Lahore, had arrested 23-year-old Khuram Masih on Dec. 5 and charged him with desecrating the Quran after his landlord, Zulfiqar Ali, alleged that he had burned pages of the book in order to prepare tea. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.
 
Masih’s previous lawyers, Muhammad Farhad Tirmizi and Liaqat John, on Jan. 3 petitioned for his bail. In their petition, they stated to Additional Sessions Judge Anjum Raza Syed that police had registered a false case against Masih based on hearsay, and that police had not found any incriminating evidence.
 
Judge Syed, however, refused to grant bail to Masih on grounds that the case was “very sensitive, and bail to the accused would fan religious sentiments and cause a great mishap.”
 
Asif Aqeel, executive director of the Community Development Initiative (CDI), an affiliate of the European Centre for Law and Justice, told Compass that the lawyers hired by Masih’s relatives should not have petitioned the trial court for Masih’s bail so soon.

Click here to read the full article at Compass Direct.

Increasing violence in Nigeria has only strengthened local Christians’ faith, even sparking a revival at the Deeper Life Bible Church in Gombe, where nine Christians were martyred in a Jan. 5 attack on the church. During a funeral service on Jan. 19 for those killed, many believers rededicated their lives to Christ, and others came to faith in Christ for the first time, according to a VOM worker.

Weeping and singing on their knees, a choir led about 500 attendees and 50 pastors in worship. The martyrs’ relatives and other dignitaries — including the deputy governor speaking on behalf of the state’s governor — spoke about each murdered Christian. The four-hour service then moved on to intercessory prayer for the church in Nigeria, the nation at large, Muslims in Nigeria and the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram.

“The leader of the prayers based most of the prayers from the book of Isaiah 61:1–4, among other scriptures, which strengthen and encourage the Church. He encouraged the Church to be more prayerful than complaining,” said the VOM worker. “He said the Lord knows how to fight his own battle in his own way, and we should not revenge whatsoever.”

On Jan. 5, Godwin Odoh, a 36-year-old teacher, was leading prayers at a weekly meeting called “The Hour of Revival.” When the church came under attack, Godwin was shot in the head, chest and legs and died instantly. Eight other attendees were also killed, including children as young as 10 years old and a pastor’s wife.

Ten days later, 72-year-old Yahaya Wuro Buntu, a pastor at Deeper Life Bible Church, was brutally murdered by a group of men who came to his house asking about the Christian faith. Yahaya was often sought out by Muslims to discuss Christianity, so he welcomed the men into his home. The men subdued him, took him to an uncompleted building near his house and killed him, according to a VOM worker. His life was celebrated during the Jan. 19 memorial service for the nine Christians killed during the church attack.

Ever since Boko Haram published an ultimatum on Jan. 3, 2012, threatening violence if Christians did not leave northern Nigeria, the extremist group has claimed responsibility for the murders of at least 44 Christians. On Jan. 22, Muslim extremists and members of Boko Haram attacked a church in Bauchi state, killing at least seven more Christians.

Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass Direct News that Christian leaders have decided to find a way to defend themselves against the senseless killings. “We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves,” Oritsejafor said. “We will do whatever it takes.”

Sources: VOM contacts, Compass Direct News

Convert to Christianity faces death threats; father committed suicide over conversion.

NAIROBI, Kenya, January 27 (CDN) — A former member of a Muslim extremist group in Uganda who converted to Christianity is in hiding in Kenya, his movements severely restricted following threats to kill him.

Hassan Sharif Lubenga, 54, was a sheikh and member of the Buk Haram, a violent group of Islamists whose name suggests the Bible is corrupt and therefore forbidden. Originally from Chengera, seven kilometers from Kampala, the husband to four wives began his conversion process four years ago; in June 2011, he said, after various dreams and visions in which Jesus appeared to him, he made a full commitment to follow Christ.

Lubenga fled to Kenya last July 10 after hostilities peaked, and upon returning to Uganda in September he received messages on his cell phone from mujahidin – Islamic fighters – threatening to kill him, he said. He reported the threats to Chengera police, who told him they would investigate, but in October a friend told him that he’d heard in a Chengera mosque that his former colleagues were enraged and planning to kill him.

“My heart got troubled, but the voice of Jesus continued whispering to me to witness for Jesus without fear,” Lubenga said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

Source: Compass Direct

Unfortunately, the violence towards Christians in Nigeria continues to increase.  Yesterday Compass Direct reported that there were seven more Christians killed in Bauchi State on Sunday, as well as another church destroyed.

“I saw seven dead bodies of some of the Christians killed,” Yusufu told Compass by phone. “The situation is terrible, and I am about to go out to other parts of the town, to see the extent of the damage caused by the attackers.”
 
Yusufu said that many other Christians were injured.
 
“Some of them have been taken to the General Hospital here, while others are being treated at home by medical personnel who are Christians,” he said.
 
All churches have cancelled services.

Today, the CBN News aired a segment with Senegal leader President Abdoulaye Wade who is offering to host a delegation of Muslims and Christians from northern Nigeria in Senegal.  Wade believes that there can be peace.

Please pray for the people of Nigeria and especially those in the Boka Haram sect who are the ones inflicting the persecution.  May the Lord bless the efforts of all who are presenting the opportunity to have peace.

 

Yesterday our friends at Compass Direct posted a report about a young Christian in Uganda who has been persecuted by Muslims for his faith and has stood strong.  As  you read the article, note how many times the Lord showed His favor on our brother and rejoice at this young man's witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Our God is the awesome God!

Ostracized by family and fired from his job, Christian overcomes false charge.

NAIROBI, Kenya, January 23 (CDN) — Hassan Muwanguzi, a convert from Islam in Uganda who lost his family and job because of his Christian faith, is thankful after fighting off the latest attack – an attempt by Muslims to imprison him and shut down the school he started.


Following his conversion in his early 20s in 2003, Muwanguzi’s family immediately kicked him out of their home, and enraged Muslims beat him, he said. His wife left him that same year, and he lost his job as a teacher at Nankodo Islamic School, near Pallisa.


Undaunted, a year ago he opened a Christian school, Grace International Nursery and Primary School, at Kajoko, Kibuku district, 27 kilometers (17 miles) from Mbale town; the area’s population of 5,000 people is predominantly Muslim.


Incensed by his boldness, an Islamic teacher, Sheikh Hassan Abdalla, filed a false charge that Muwanguzi had “defiled” his daughter, a minor. Together with his Muslim countrymen, Abdalla filed a case at the chief magistrate’s court in Palissa-Kalaki, and a warrant for Muwanguzi’s arrest was issued on April 1, 2011.

Initially he was locked up for three weeks, he said.

“After 48 hours, I was taken to court, and the judge read the charges against me and asked whether I knew of the case,” Muwanguzi said. “I answered that I was not aware of such charges. I asked for a court bail, but the judge insisted that a bail can only be given after hearing from the complainant.”

He was then sent to Kamuge Prison. On April 22, he appeared again before the judge, but the complainant did not appear. His lawyer appealed for his release.

He was freed on bail for 600,000 Uganda shillings (US$246), he said. At his first hearing on May 21, the complainant did not appear. Nor did Sheikh Abdalla appear at hearings on June 25, July 16 and Aug. 13, Muwanguzi said.


“The judge found out it was a false accusation, hence the case was dropped,” Muwanguzi said. “I had been subjected to humiliation, but I forgave them for the sake of my Christian outreach in the area.”

Full story here.

Harassment continues amid growing hostility toward Christians.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 20 (CDN) — Police this week beat and arrested a church leader in Khartoum, sources told Compass.
 
Evangelist James Kat of the Evangelical Church of Sudan was arrested on Tuesday morning (Jan. 17), with officers beating him as they took him to a North Division police station, the sources said. He was released on bail the same day.
 
Police detained Kat, who lives at the church site, apparently because he was using the place as his home.
 
“They forced him to go with them to the police station,” an eyewitness said.
 
The arrest came amid increasing harassment of Christians by Sudanese authorities following the secession of South Sudan on July 9, 2011. In a Jan. 3 letter to Sudanese Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) leaders, Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments threatened to arrest pastors if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide the leaders’ names and contact information.
 
Hamid Yousif Adam, undersecretary of the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, warned “We have all legal rights to take them to court” in the letter. SPEC leaders said the government is increasingly trying to limit church activities.

Click here to read the full story. 

I love a good news story don't you?  Well, here's an update about a young lady who has suffered for her faith, sadly, from her Muslim father who locked her in a room with very little water and food. Please keep Susan in your thoughts and prayers.

Released from hospital, Susan Ithungu takes steps with support.

BWERA, Uganda, January 17 (CDN) — A 15-year-old Christian girl in western Uganda who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps.


Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother.
 

In March 2010, Susan had trusted Christ for her salvation – prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. Pastor Joseph Baluku of Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese said neighbors who discovered that the girl was locked in a room with almost no food or water notified authorities.


After her release, they took her to a hospital on Sept. 6, 2010. She would not be discharged from hospital care until Oct. 19, 2011.

After Compass published her ordeal on Aug. 11, 2011, several individuals and ministries came forward to help her (see www.compassdirect.org, “Girl in Uganda Loses Use of Legs after Leaving Islam for Christ,” Aug. 11, 2011). She now lives in a rented house in an undisclosed location.

“Well-wishers have been paying the house rent and buying me food and clothing,” said Susan, who added that she has forgiven her father.

Full story here.

After the conclusion of Egypt’s parliamentary elections last week, many Christians fear that government control by Islamists will lock them into second-class status and increase persecution against Christians. However, some believers rejoice that the recent wave of persecution has prompted many nominal Christians to turn to Christ for solace.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the Al Nour Party, made up of members from the extremist Salafi group, now hold almost two-thirds of Egypt’s parliamentary seats. According to the AP, the newly elected parliament’s primary function is to select a 100-person commission to draft a new constitution for Egypt.

A local Christian casting her ballot, 22-year-old Marcelle Mageh, told Compass Direct News that Christian persecution increased dramatically after former president Hosni Mubarak fell from power and conservative Muslims took control. “You see all the problems that have happened before they got into power,” Mageh said. “Imagine what will happen when they get into power.”

After Mubarak stepped down, Christians’ joy quickly turned to fear as they experienced a string of attacks from members of the Salafi movement and other Muslims. The extremists attacked Christian-owned businesses, burned churches and prevented congregations from opening churches. Christians were also attacked in the streets throughout Egypt.

“It seems that Egyptian Christians are going through a spiritual revolution since the recent persecution began,” said a VOM worker in the region. “More and more are becoming true believers.” This past Christmas, Coptic Christians, evangelicals and Catholics joined in a prayer vigil for Christians injured during the various protests that attracted 65,000. “Many are witnessing more and sharing the gospel,” the VOM worker added.

Lilian Sobhy, a surgeon who worked at a medical center during the October riots, told Compass Direct News that more persecution is inevitable but that Christians who focus on the expectation of persecution are missing the point. Sobhy thinks Christians need to focus more on how to deal with persecution when it does come.

“We believe that if the church is standing in the right place it is going to be glorious, so we don’t really care who is going to win,” Sobhy said. “Wherever it is going to happen, we believe that the Lord is sovereign.”

Sources: VOM contacts, Compass Direct News, The Associated Press, United Press International, Moscow Times

Southern state remains most volatile place for third straight year.

NEW DELHI, January 13 (CDN) — Attacks on Christians accelerated over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in the south Indian state of Karnataka, which was identified as the most unsafe place for the religious minority for the third consecutive year in 2011.

With 49 cases of violence and hostility against Christians in 2011, Karnataka remained the state with the highest incidence of persecution, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s annual report, “Battered and Bruised…”

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), which is based in Karnataka’s capital of Bengaluru and initially reported most of the incidents, also documented at least six anti-Christian attacks between Christmas Eve 2011 and New Year’s Day.

On the evening of Jan. 1, about 20 men disrupted the New Year’s Day worship service of the Blessing Youth Mission Church at the house of a believer in Hunnur village, in Jamkhandi division of Bagalkot district. Suspected Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal, the men manhandled pastor Siddu Seemanth Gunike, accusing him of forcibly and fraudulently converting Hindus. Local police intervened and rescued the pastor and other Christians.

On New Year’s Eve, more than 10 men trespassed onto the premises of the Karnataka Calvary Fellowship Church, in the Ganeshgudi area in Joida division of North Canara district, and disrupted a service of thanksgiving. Believed to be Hindu nationalists, the men forced the church to stop the service. Police arrived but only to summon the pastor, identified as P.R. Jose, to the police station the following morning. After GCIC’s intervention, however, a senior police official assured the Christians of security.

Please continue reading at Compass Direct.

Please also pray for Christians all throughout India. India is a restricted nation with approximately two and a half percent of the population as professing Christians. Learn more at Persecution.com.

They hate you because of Me, but the one who stands firm until the end will be saved.—Matthew 10:22

Compass Direct is reporting today on an incident that took place in Uganda on December 24th where a former Muslim and now a convert to Christianity, Bishop Umar Mulinde was attacked by extremist Muslims who threw acid on his face and back, which ended up burning thirty percent of his face.

Bishop Mulinde is now suffering loss of sight and may lose his eyesight in both eyes. Please pray for our brother as he now heals from these scars he has born for Jesus.

Read the full story at Compass Direct.