Persecution Blog

Protest in Exeter Over Banning Graduation Prayer

We have covered numerous times on this blog about controversies over prayer.  It's happening more and more, in city council meetings, and even in schools for graduation prayer.  Here's another story from CBS News. Click here to view the video.

A protest is planned for a school board meeting in Exeter Wednesday night.

Parents and students are upset over the board’s decision to drop a prayer at this year's graduation at Exeter Union High School.

The board decided to drop the traditional prayer because one student objected to it, arguing it forces religion upon students.

The board decided the prayer would be replaced with a moment of silence, so parents and students will protest the decision.

Morocco: Christians Deported

The Moroccan government has deported twenty-eight Christian workers so far in May, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.

“The Moroccan government continues political pressures against us Moroccan believers and against the foreign workers, and if it stopped for a while before, it was only to restart again and strongly,” VOM contacts said. “Please continue to pray and also to act, because if this … continues, soon we’ll not be deported but [we will be] arrested or even killed.”

In recent months, the government has increased its crackdown on Christians, expelling as many as 60 Christian aid workers from the country. Moroccan police have accused Christian aid workers from the United States, Korea, Netherlands and England of violating Morocco’s anti-proselytism laws.

“On March 8, police visited the orphanage Village of Hope, which has been operating with the government’s approval for the past ten years,” Smyrna Ministries International reported. “They scoured the grounds looking for Bibles, interrogated children and staff members and announced that the [foster] parents had seven hours to pack and say goodbye to [the children]. All fifteen of the foster parents, the only parents these children have ever known, were deported before nightfall, leaving the 33 children with the police.”

Following the orphanage raid, government authorities reportedly targeted believers across Morocco. “When [authorities] visited an American-founded orphanage in the town of Azrou, they drew several young children aside and demanded they demonstrate the ‘proper’ way to pray,” Smyrna Ministries International reported. “In Marrakesh, authorities arrested a Korean-born Protestant pastor during his Sunday service, and in the northern city of Larache they deported an Egyptian church leader.”

Christians in Morocco think the crackdown is coming from two newly appointed government officials who took office in January. Interior Minister Tayeb Cherkaoui recently issued a press release stating, “[Christians] are guilty of trying to undermine the faith of Muslims.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray that the deported Christian leaders and workers will not give in to anger or discouragement but will forgive their persecutors. Pray that God will protect and comfort the orphans from Village of Hope and that they will receive the love and care they need. Pray for Moroccan believers who have lost their pastors and face interrogation.

Christian Girls Kidnapped in Yemen Are Rescued

Parents, other abducted Christians remain missing.

ISTANBUL, May 18 (CDN) — Saudi Arabian and Yemeni security forces rescued two German girls yesterday, 11 months after the two young sisters, their parents, brother and four other Christians were taken hostage in Yemen. 

Reported to be between 3 and 6 years old, the two girls, Lydia Hentschel and her younger sister Anna Hentschel, were part of a group of nine Christian foreigners who were kidnapped on June 12 last year. Three of the adult hostages, a Korean and two German women, were murdered shortly afterwards. 

The foreigners worked in a hospital near the city of Saada. No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Although the German family, a British man, and the three murdered women were Christians, it was not clear if they were kidnapped because of their faith.   Please read more at Compass Direct

Egyptian Convert from Islam Devastated by ‘Delay Tactic’

Will you please take a few moments today to pray for this believer and his family. It has got to be hard to feel like you have to live a double life, as this believer feels, and especially to fear for your children's safety if they follow Jesus.

Court suspends Mohammed Hegazy’s lawsuit pending outcome of separate case.

CAIRO, Egypt, May 17 (CDN) — An Egyptian convert to Christianity said he is devastated by a recent court decision to suspend a lawsuit he filed to change the religion on his identification card from Muslim to Christian.

The First District of the Court of the State Council on April 27 suspended Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy’s case until the Constitutional Court rules on a challenge to Article 47, a section of the civil code that in theory allows Egyptians to change the religion listed on their ID card.

Hegazy, 27, said the suspension endangers his children’s welfare and will force them to lead a double life indefinitely – at home they will be taught to live in accordance with the Bible, and outside it they will be taught to live according to the Quran.

If they ultimately decide to follow Jesus, Hegazy said, his children will be declared “apostates” and be persecuted the rest of their lives for “leaving Islam.” Hegazy, who has suffered severely after Egypt’s religious authorities declared him an apostate, including being imprisoned by State Security Investigations (SSI) several times, said he filed the case so his children would avoid the same fate.

“I didn’t want them to have to go through the same harassment and persecution that I went through,” he said. “My daughter won’t be able to go to school without constantly fearing for her safety. She might even be killed simply because she is my daughter.”

Hegazy is arguably the most well-known Muslim convert to Christianity in Egypt. He rose to national prominence in August 2007 when he became the first Muslim convert in Egypt to sue for the right to change the religious status on his identification card to “Christian.”  Read more at Compass Direct

Galloway Township Suspends Nonsecterian Prayer Invocations at Meetings,

Here we go again, with yet another city that has received an "anonymous" complaint about the prayers being said referring to Jesus, when a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ says the prayer.  According to PressofAtlanticCity.com a Jewish Republican is leading the way in determining what the prayer policy should be.

Ullman, a first-term Republican who is Jewish, said she noticed during her campaign that some religious leaders gave Christian-themed prayers, but she did not raise the issue until after she took office and a constituent, whom she declined to name, took offense.

In response, Solicitor Mike Blee is compiling guidelines for delivering the invocation.

“Although we’ve done everything in Galloway Township to try to make sure the invocation is nonsectarian in nature, it was never reduced to writing. We thought it would be a good idea to memorialize it in writing with a more formal policy,” Blee said.

Read more here, and please pray that the city council would do the right thing, and allow prayers in the name of Jesus and not discriminate against Christians.

Christian Forced to Sell Kidney to Pay Debt to Boss in Pakistan

Compass Direct has a horrible story today about a Christian man who had taken a loan from his Muslim employer, who charged 400% interest to Christians, and not Muslims, and even though the Christian had been paying the loan - including the interest - the employer had the Christian kidnapped against his will, brought to a hospital and had his kidney removed.

This is a shocking story, and something we all need to be praying for.  Please take a moment right now to pray for John Gill and his recovery, his safety and for God's will to be done in his life and the lives of those around him.  Please also ask the Lord to convict his Muslim boss and draw him to the cross.  Read more of this story at Compass Direct.

Seek God More Earnestly

They huddled inside the room while hearing the screams of fellow Christians being butchered outside. Pastor Hendrick Pattiwael and his wife were helping to lead the Indonesian youth camp, and they felt responsible for the young people in their care.

    The camp had been a joyous time of spiritual growth and worship. Then they were attacked.
    When the radical Muslim mob surrounded the building where they hid, Pastor Pattiwael went outside.

Distracting the bloodthirsty mob’s attention away from his wife and the young people, the pastor was attacked while the others escaped.

    “Jesus, help me.” They were his final words.

    His wife next saw him lying in a coffin. Ugly wounds crisscrossed his torso and arms. In shock and anger, Mrs. Pattiwael cried out to God. “How could you let this happen? Why didn’t you protect my husband?”

    But the Holy Spirit reminded her of her husband’s words only days before the attack. “If you love Jesus, but you love me or your family more, you are unworthy of Christ’s kingdom.” He told her that he was ready to die for Christ’s kingdom.
  

 Remembering those words, she refused to become bitter. She still works with her church in Indonesia. The advice that she would give Christians in free nations is simply this: “Seek God more earnestly, so that you can stand in the midst of more trouble.”

We don’t have to go looking for trouble. It already has our address. Jesus often reminded his disciples that trials are part of daily living. Seeking God more earnestly does not mean seeking more trouble for our lives. No, the benefit of seeking a deeper relationship with God is to better prepare us for the inevitable. We don’t have a choice about what troubles come our way. However, we can choose to have a relationship with God that prepares us for trouble. Some trials may mean losing our lives for Christ's sake. Yet this is not the real sacrifice. The extreme sacrifice must come long before. We must sacrifice selfishness at every level in order to develop intimacy with God ahead of time. When we have sacrificed all to pursue a preeminent relationship with Christ, we will have already done the hardest part.

Keeping Cool is Wise

Witnesses falsely testified against him. “We heard him cursing Moses and God. This man talks nonstop against God’s law. We even heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would tear this place down and throw out all the customs Moses gave us.”

    The chief priest of the high counsel turned to the defendant. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
   

Calmly he rose, and his gentle tone changed. “Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Jesus. And you’ve kept up your religious traditions—you traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s law handed to you by angels—gift wrapped!—and you squandered it!”

    Screams and curses broke out in response, but Stephen was undeterred. He looked up into heaven and declared, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!” They blocked their ears with their hands, rushed him, and dragged him outside of the city. One of the Pharisees named Saul quietly collected the robes of the others so that Stephen’s blood wouldn’t stain them.

    As the stones began to pound Stephen’s body, he cried out, “Master Jesus, take my life.” Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Master, don’t blame them for this sin”—his last words.

Then he died.

Adapted from Acts 6:11—7:60 (paraphrased), The Message

Keeping cool in the face of difficult situations is the wisest move. Things as trivial as being cut off in traffic, receiving a low grade in school, and being reprimanded on the job are all it takes these days to lose it. However, maneuvering through uncommonly stressful situations takes more than common sense. It takes divine wisdom. When faced with false accusations and even the threat of death, Stephen exercised true wisdom. He did not retaliate. He did not curse his accusers. He simply clung to what he knew to be true and what the Pharisees refused to believe—Jesus is the Son of God. This same Jesus who embraced Stephen as he died will also embrace you when you need the wisdom that only comes from God.

Lao Christians Expelled from Village Suffer Critical Illnesses

One dead, two hospitalized; village chief threatens other residents.

DUBLIN, May 14 (CDN) — In spite of assurances of religious rights by officials in March, Lao Christians expelled from a village in Saravan Province in January are suffering from a prolonged lack of adequate food and clean water.
 
The lack of basic resources has led to diarrhea, dehydration, eye and skin infections, fainting and general weakness for the Christians expelled from Katin village, and one person has died, Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) reported.
 
A Christian who went by the single name of Ampheng died suddenly in April while praying for one of two other Christians who were hospitalized with illnesses caused by their living conditions, an HRWLRF spokesman told Compass. The exact cause and date of Ampheng’s death were not immediately known.
 
Expelled from their village at gunpoint on Jan. 18 for failing to renounce their faith, the 48 Christians were forced to build temporary shelters at the edge of the jungle, about six kilometers (nearly four miles) away from the village.  Read more at Compass Direct.
 

End of Week Key for Christians in Turkey

We would like to thank our friends at Mission Network News for an update on this vital story.  Please keep this trial in your prayers.  This has been a long three years for the church in Turkey, and the families of those who lost their loved ones in this tragic incident.

Turkey (MNN) ― Friday and Saturday are two dates central to Turkey's Malatya Christian bookstore murder trial. 

On Friday, a judge is expected to decide if he'll combine this case with another uncovering a plot to destabilize the Turkish government. On Saturday, a verdict could be announced in the trial dealing with the vicious murders in 2007. 

Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network says there are two hopes: one is for justice, and the other is for truth. "The Christians really hope that this case will be put to rest. By that, they mean the sentencing of these five individuals. But they also are praying that this case will influence some of the other things that are happening." 

Turkish Christians Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and German Christian Tilmann Geske, worked at a publishing house that distributed Christian material in this southeastern Turkish city. They were found brutally murdered three years ago.

As the case began to wrap up, a hearing on April 21 brought new evidence to light that indicated the perpetrators may not have been acting on their own accord. According to Compass Direct News, prosecuting lawyers asked the judge to join the Malatya murder case to a plot called the "Cage Plan."

The Cage Plan is thought to be part of a "deep state" operation to destabilize the government. Lawyers presented evidence that corroborated a plan led by retired generals, politicians and other key figures. More disconcerting, the evidence indicated this plan also targeted Turkey's Christian minority leaders,  as well as some of their children. Hearings for the Cage Plan are expected to begin on June 15.

At the moment, it seems things are in limbo. However, there's a "silver lining" from the scrutiny. Rodeheaver explains, "This case served to bring about the reality that the evangelical church is a legitimate entity and that it is not the cult that it was made out to be." 

IN Network has programs in church planting and evangelism carried out by a small church in Istanbul. Through personal visits, discipling church members, and building them up in their faith, Rodeheaver says the Gospel is making advances. He says, "The best way to evangelize in a country like Turkey is to build relationships with your Muslim neighbors, to build the kind of trust where you can have those conversations."