<http://www.barnabasfund.org>Prayer Focus Update

November 2007 Issue 133

PRAYER FOCUS UPDATE is a monthly information bulletin with up-to-date news on the persecuted Church to help Christians pray for their suffering brothers and sisters. You can use this for prayer groups, your own information and for inclusion in church magazines.

SUDAN - Grenade in Church service kills six children

A man in military attire walked into a church meeting in Khorfulus in Southern Sudan on the evening of Thursday 27th September and detonated a grenade. Five children were killed instantly and a sixth died two days later. Another child, a woman and the minister who was leading the service were all taken to hospital in a critical condition.

The Government of South Sudan has pulled out of the National Unity Government which was formed in September 2005, nine months after the long-running civil war had come to an end. South Sudan is predominantly Christian and the civil war began in 1983 when the South protested against attempts by the Islamic government of North Sudan to impose Islamic law on the South. The Southern Government's move is a protest against what it sees as the failure of the National Unity Government to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The Agreement is supposed to give the South a measure of autonomy, a fair share of oil revenues, and allow them to vote in due course about whether they want complete independence.

/ Pray for God to comfort those who mourn and for healing for those who were injured. Pray for protection for Sudanese Christians.

Christians in Sudan are still recovering from the trauma of the civil war which lasted almost 22 years and saw the whole infrastructure of the South destroyed, with millions of Southerners being displaced. Pray that the Lord will guide those He has raised up to positions of political power and that He will bring peace, freedom and stability to this suffering nation.

Praise God for the tremendous church growth which occurred during the years of brutal war. Pray that Christian believers will have grace to forgive and to love their former enemies and that this example will speak powerfully to others./

ISRAEL - Church arsoned in Jerusalem

A Baptist church in Narkiss Street, Jerusalem was set on fire on 23rd October. Although the police have not yet made any arrests, the Israeli press are unanimous in attributing the crime to Jewish extremists. A church building on the same plot of land was destroyed by ultra-right wing Jewish arsonists in 1982.

/Pray for the protection of Christians in all parts of the Holy Land. They are a vulnerable minority. Pray that the perpetrators of this arson attack will be found./

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Gaza Bible society bookshop manager killed

The small Christian minority in Gaza (approximately 3,000 people) has been shocked by the kidnapping and murder of Rami Ayyad (aged 30). Rami, who ran the Bible Society's bookshop in Gaza, was kidnapped after leaving the shop on the afternoon of Saturday 6th October. The next morning his body was discovered, showing knife wounds and bullet wounds.

A colleague at the Bible Society said, "Rami was the most gentle member of the team, the ever-smiling one. He was the face of our Bible shop, always receiving visitors and serving them as Jesus would."

/Pray for Rami's widow, Pauline, who is pregnant, and for their two children, George (2) and Wisam (9 months).

Rami's death has received much coverage in the local media and the Christian community has received many messages of condolence, prayer and support. Pray that God will somehow bring good out of this tragedy./

INDIA - Hindu extremists attack Christians

Reports continue to come in every week concerning attacks on church leaders and other Christians in India. Here are just two examples. On 16th September evangelist Ajay Topno was shot dead in Sahoda village, Jharkand state. On 14th October at 2.30 a.m., Pastor TC Joseph (57) and his wife Ammini (50) were attacked in their home in Mananthavady, Kerala state. The attackers had first disconnected the phone and power supply, then broke down the door and severely beat the couple.

/Pray for all who are bereaved and injured because of their faithful service for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank the Lord that the police were quick to act in the case of Pastor Joseph and pray that the police in every Indian state will follow their example./

CHINA - Christian imprisoned for giving out tracts

Liu Huiwen was sentenced to eighteen months in prison at a court hearing on 23rd October. He had written a Christian tract and distributed it to people in his local community, some of whom were Muslims. This resulted in a charge of insulting Islam and the prison sentence, which is far longer than the sentences normally imposed on Chinese Christians. It is significant that the police officer, prosecutor and judge in the case were all Muslims. Our brother is appealing on the basis that all of the court officers were Muslim. Islam is growing fast in the west of China where he lives.

/Pray that Liu Huiwen's appeal will be successful and that he will be speedily released from prison. He has already been held in detention for some time, between his arrest and his case coming to court. Pray also for his protection after release; he could be targeted by zealous Muslims believing that God wants them to attack the man they feel has insulted their religion.

Pray that the tracts which Liu Huiwen was able to distribute before his arrest will be read and will change many hearts.

The concept of Christians being considered guilty of insulting or vilifying Islam when they share their Christian beliefs has been raised in recent years in very different contexts, in addition to western China. Examples include Pakistan and Australia. Pray that people of all faiths will be free to speak of what they believe without fear of arrest and punishment./

IRAQ - Anti-Christian violence continues but church leaders released

The threats and violence against Christians continue, and huge numbers are fleeing the country. Those who are leaving now are mostly poorer than those who fled earlier. Many are sick, disabled or have been injured in anti-Christian violence before they left their homeland. They arrive in Syria, where rent and food prices have shot up because of the influx of refugees. The Iraqis are allowed to work in Syria, but find it difficult to get jobs with a decent wage. Huge numbers turn to the churches for help with their basic needs.

Church leaders are a particular focus of attack by Islamic extremists, which is seen by Christians as confirming that their community is being targeted for religious reasons. Two church ministers were kidnapped at a funeral in Mosul on 13th October, but released unharmed on 21st October.

/Pray for peace, stability, law and order in Iraq, and for all who are victims of the chaos and violence. Pray in particular that our heavenly Father will meet the needs of Iraqi Christians, those in the country and those who are refugees. Barnabas Fund is assisting churches in Iraq and Syria to meet the needs of these desperate Christians.

Thank the Lord for the safe release of the two church ministers. (Several other ministers kidnapped in the past have been killed.)/

KYRGYZSTAN - Changes to constitution

A referendum held in Kyrgyzstan on 21st October produced a large majority in favour of a new constitution. The new constitution strengthens the secular basis of the country and has various clauses banning religious groups from becoming involved in politics. This is clearly aimed at preventing Islamists from gaining political power and moving the country towards a more Islamic stance.

A ban on religious discrimination, already in place in the previous constitution, remains in the new one.

/Pray that anti-Islamist clauses in the new constitution will not be misused against Christians./

IRAN - Iranian Christian couple whipped for attending worship meeting

An Iranian Christian couple have been punished by whipping for apostasy from Islam. Six officials visited their home in September to carry out the punishment.

The husband is indeed a former Muslim, who became a Christian many years ago, but the wife was born into an Assyrian Christian family and has never been a Muslim. The basis of the accusation against her lies in the couple's marriage seven years ago. Although both were Christians, they could not find a church willing to marry them because of their different backgrounds, so they married under Islamic law. According to the Justice Court of Revolution, when non-Muslims marry under Islamic law they are considered to have converted to Islam. So both were legally considered Muslims, although they were in reality convinced and practising Christians.

Some five years later the couple were among a group of Christians who were arrested on 21st September 2005 while meeting for worship in a home in a town north-west of Teheran. In July 2007 the couple's case came to court. They declared before the judge that they were Christians. Because the law considered them Muslim, this led to the court's ruling that they were both apostates from Islam, and hence the brutal punishment.

/Pray for this couple, who have not been named for their safety and the safety of other Christians known to them. But the Lord knows their names and their anguish at this time. Pray also for physical healing.

Pray particularly for the wife. After their hearing in July they were required to report regularly to the authorities until their punishment had been decided. On one such visit, she was sexually abused by an Islamic cleric. Pray for her emotional healing./