Find out What to do and How to Pray for the Persecuted Church.....Last Article!

 

International Day Of Prayer: November 13

Christians around the world will unite on Sunday, Nov. 13th for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Although we should always remember those in chains, IDOP is set aside as a special day...  Read More.... www.persecution.com/idop

 

Case of Iranian Pastor Facing Death Penalty Reportedly in Hands of Supreme Leader

By Joshua Rhett Miller  |  October 10, 2011 | FoxNews.com

The case of an Iranian pastor facing a possible death sentence has reportedly been referred to Iran's supreme leader, a move some say shows the Islamic republic is feeling pressure in the face of growing international support. Attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah told AFP on Monday that an Iranian court has decided to seek the opinion of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- the Islamic republic's spiritual leader and highest authority -- in the case of Youcef Nadarkhani, a 32-year-old pastor who was arrested in October 2009 and later sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. Dadkhah and religious rights organizations say Nadarkhani is facing possible execution for apostasy and for refusing to renounce his religion, contradicting reports by Iran state media that have indicated Nadarkhani was found guilty of rape, extortion and security-related crimes. Messages seeking comment from Dadkhah were not immediately returned early Monday.

Read Article.....http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/10/case-iranian-pastor-referred-to-countrys-supreme-leader/

 

IRAN LAUNCHES BIBLE-BURNING CAMPAIGN

Sept. 2011---Most of history's despots and tyrants have forced their citizens to burn Bibles, for they have feared the Truth. Pray fervently for the Iranian Christians as well as for those who are now receiving the Gospel. Ask the Lord to use His mighty arm to protect the Christians in Iran. Ask the Lord to protect and bless the work of the ministries risking their lives to get the Word of God to the Iranians.

"I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken." (Psalm 15: 8)

Iranian authorities began to systematically seize and destroy Bibles after a Shiite cleric issued an urgent warning about the spread of Christianity. Authorities in northwestern Iran seized 6,500 Bibles, according to the Iranian Christian news organization Mohabat News, which quotes an official as saying of the seizure that "all religions are strengthening their power to confront Islam; otherwise, what does this huge number of Bibles mean?" The agency has reported several other recent incidents of Bibles and other Christian literature being seized and sometimes publicly burned.

A Shi'ite cleric affiliated with the Iranian regime has warned about the "danger" of Christianity spreading in the Islamic republic.

According to Mohabat News, an independent Iranian Christian news agency, Ayatollah Hadi Jahangosha expressed concern about "the spread of Christianity among our youth," citing the availability of Christian satellite television programs, books and objects.

"Everyone in society should feel responsibility in this matter and play his or her role in spreading of pure Islam and fight false and distorted cultures," Mohabat quoted him as saying during a presentation on Mahdism - the belief in the so-called "hidden" or 12th imam, prophesied to emerge at a time of future chaos.

When Iran in 2008 hosted a conference on "Religion in the Modern World," attended by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan and other dignitaries, the Tehran Times in an op-ed said Iran's hosting of the event showed that its "ancient tradition of showing respect for different cultures and religions is still alive and well."

"The reality on the ground in Iran is quite different from what is being propagated by certain countries and organizations in their disinformation campaigns," it said.

One organization that provides Bibles for Iranians is Elam, which says it printed and distributed 100,000 Bibles and 100,000 New Testaments in 2010.

"Despite the limited support, well over a million New Testaments have been made available in recent years, and up to half a million whole Bibles," the organization says on its Web site. "And despite the ferocious hostility of the government in Iran to the Bible, brave Christians there have risked their lives to see their fellow countrymen read the Scriptures. Some are in prison now for their work."

Elam was founded in 1988 by senior Iranian church leaders in Britain "with the vision of reaching Iran and the Persian speaking world for Christ."

It says that at the time of the Islamic revolution in 1979, there were fewer than 500 known Iranian Christians from a Muslim background.

"Today the most conservative estimate is that there are at least 100,000 believers in the nation."

 

IRAN | Restricted Nation

Iran's supreme leader warns against the House Church Movement  

Oct. 19, 2010---The Iranian government is furious about the conversion of large numbers of Muslims to Christianity. Iranian Christian converts meet for Bible study and worship in their homes. House church leaders in Iran fear a new wave of persecution after a threatening speech by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Khamenei, in which he warned against the network of house churches that threaten Islamic faith and deceive Muslims. Announcements like this have far reaching consequences in a country. This means the Iranian government will be working behind the scenes with its security services and religious police. The underground church in Iran is growing, and is estimated to have several million believers.

The 1979 Islamic Revolution installed its current leadership, destroying the former Persian Empire's Christian legacy while oppressing its people. The hope of Jesus Christ continues to spread throughout Iran, despite the government's attempts to stop it.

 

PAKISTAN  |  Blasphemy Laws

Will the Pakistani government protect its Christian population?  

March 2, 2011---The world mourns Pakistan's sole Christian minority leader who was assassinated this week. Minorities Minister Shabaz Bhatti was shot dead as he was on his way to a cabinet meeting when several gunmen opened fire on the car. Despite innumerable death threats, Minister Bhatti insisted he had a duty to his fellow Pakistanis to defend religious rights and challenged the blasphemy laws of Pakistan which persecute and bring a death sentence.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the matter before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "I think we need to do much more to stand up for the rights of religious minorities," she said. "There's no doubt that Christians and other minority groups are feeling under pressure and are leaving countries from North Africa to South Asia because they don't feel protected," she told Tuesday's congressional panel.

Pakistani Islamists envision a country where opposing voices like those of Bhutto, Taseer, and Bhatti are silenced by assassination. In their vision of Pakistan, women like Asia Bibi are executed without reasonable evidence of guilt. People of reason around the world need to speak out loudly in one voice to ensure that Shabaz Bhatti's life and death were not in vain.

Two other assassinations happened over religious freedom in Pakistan. On Jan. 4, it was Punjab Gov. Salmaan Taseer and in December 2007 Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Both Taseer and Bhatti spoke out against Pakistan's archaic blasphemy law. They called for the release of convicted Christian Asia Bibi, a mother of five ordered to be executed for committing blasphemy against Mohammed.

Bhutto, Taseer, and Bhatti advanced a vision of a Pakistani society where the rights of Christians and others would be respected. Their shared vision was of a Pakistan where democracy and opportunities for females and minorities would flourish.

God calls Christians to live a radical life.....radical faith like the Apostle Paul's life. Pakistan's Shahbaz Bhatti did just that.

 SOMALIA

Christian Decapitated....After an extensive search, Christians in the Bakool region of southwestern Somalia discovered the decapitated body of kidnapped Christian Juma Naradin Kamil on Sept. 2, 2011. Kamil’s body...

Read Full Article….. http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=NDI3

NIGERIA

More than 100 Christians Killed in Nigerias Plateau State

Entire families slaughtered in month of attacks, apparently with military help.

JOS, Nigeria, Sept. 22, 2011 (Compass Direct News) – A rash of attacks by armed Muslim extremists on villages in Nigeria’s Plateau state in the past month have left more than 100 Christians dead, including the elimination of entire families, sources said. In a guerilla-type “hit and run” attack on the Christian community of Vwang Kogot, Muslim attackers at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 9 killed 14 Christians, including a pregnant woman. Survivors of the attack told Compass that the assailants raided the village with the aid of men in military uniforms of the Nigerian Army.

Read Article….. http://www.opendoorsusa.org/news/2011/09-September/More-than-100-Christians-Killed-in-Nigerias-Plateau-State

Embassy for World Peace

Statement on Humanitarian Violations and Religious Persecution

As a center for peace, the Embassy addresses major contemporary issues including racism, anti-Semitism, terrorism and genocide.

The Embassy’s educational program deals with social responsibility for the changing face of hate and terrorism, and assuring religious freedom for all people. This is achieved by fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action, through recognizing that we are our brother’s keeper.

Established in 1995, the Embassy closely interacts on an ongoing basis with a variety of public and private agencies, meeting with elected officials in the U.S. and foreign governments, diplomats and heads of state.

The Embassy is dedicated to bringing public awareness to the growing worldwide incidences of humanitarian violations and religious persecution.  We support the efforts of humanitarian relief and aid organizations which provide assistance to needy people irrespective of race, creed or class.  By mediating with government and community leaders, the Embassy has helped to improve understanding and promote justice in troubled regions of the world.

 WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO PRAY

“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” [Hebrews 13:3]

In the New Testament church believers thought of and addressed each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. In Matthew 25:40, Jesus explained that when “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

One of the main purposes of the Church is to encourage and empower Christians to fulfill the Great Commission in areas of the world where they are persecuted for their involvement in propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can undertake projects that give relief to the families of Christian martyrs in various areas of the world who face government and fanatical Islamic opposition. These organizations reach our persecuted family who suffer through trials for choosing Christ: rejection and imprisonment or the loss of a family member who was martyred.