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

Prayer Focus Update

March 2008 Issue 137

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.

It can be sent via email, is available as printable versions on the Barnabas Fund website or can be sent through the post FREE OF CHARGE. Please contact your national Barnabas Fund office or the UK office if you would like to receive this in the post.

You can select an A4 or A5 PDF version to download by clicking here <http://www.barnabasfund.org/support/pfu.php>

* MALAYSIA & ZIMBABWE - ELECTIONS COMING UP THIS MARCH <#MALAYSIA&ZIMBABWE-ELECTIO>

* PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - GUNMEN ATTACK YMCA AND DESTROY LIBRARY <#PALESTINIANTERRITORIES-GU>

* EGYPT - SHADIA IBRAHIM RELEASED FROM PRISON <#EGYPT-SHADIAIBRAHIMRELEAS>

* VIETNAM - BOYS AND MAN BEATEN AT PRAYER MEETING <#VIETNAM-BOYSANDMANBEATENA>

* PAKISTAN - MUSLIM MOB ATTACKS LOCAL CHRISTIANS AND SERIOUSLY INJURES TWO

<#PAKISTAN-MUSLIMMOBATTACKS>

* PAKISTAN - DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN CONTINUES <#PAKISTAN-DISCRIMINATIONAG>

* SOMALIA <#SOMALIA>

MALAYSIA & ZIMBABWE - ELECTIONS COMING UP THIS MARCH

*MALAYSIA* General elections have been called in Malaysia to take place on 8 March after the president dissolved parliament more than a year ahead of schedule. Christians and other non-Muslims in Malaysia feel that their rights in the religious, educational, societal and economic spheres are being eroded as the government continues to promote the introduction of Islamic values. Because most of the non-Muslims live in urban areas with large constituencies it is difficult for their votes to make much difference. Humanly speaking, there appears almost no possibility of political change which would bring about a long-term improvement in the situation of non-Muslim Malaysians. But nothing is impossible with God.

/. Please pray that God's will be done in these upcoming elections. Pray that, even though change may seem impossible at the moment, God will raise up honest, just and wise men and women to be voted into office./

*ZIMBABWE* Zimbabweans will go to the polls on 29 March for presidential, parliamentary and local government elections. The 82-year old Robert Mugabe is the longest serving African leader, having come to power in 1980. Since the early 1990s the government has become increasingly tyrannical. Opposition leaders and members have often been arrested and tortured and many have been killed under suspicious circumstances. Despite being heavily criticised by the West, Mugabe has been supported by many other African leaders because of his heroic struggle against colonialism. The government is very suspicious of Christian leaders and has infiltrated many church organisations. Often phones are tapped and e-mails are monitored. Recently a number of prayer meetings have been disrupted by police using tear gas and dogs. Church leaders have been falsely accused of organising anti-government rallies and have been beaten and arrested. Zimbabwe stands at the brink of complete collapse. Most Zimbabweans have very little faith in the integrity of the up-coming elections and fear heavy intimidation and persecution for any support of opposition parties.

/. Please pray that God will intervene in this apparently hopeless situation and bring about change. Pray for free and fair elections, devoid of intimidation, torture or persecution.

. Pray for those who have the courage to stand up against the current government. Pray for the church leaders in this country, that the Lord will protect and strengthen them and enable them to continue faithfully in their work.

. Pray for the many Zimbabweans who are starving and struggling to survive under immense economic and political pressure. Pray that the Lord will give them hope and encourage them. Pray also for protection of those who selflessly and perilously transport and distribute food sponsored by Barnabas Fund to needy Zimbabwean Christians. /

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PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - GUNMEN ATTACK YMCA AND DESTROY LIBRARY

On Friday, 15 February, gunmen attacked the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Gaza City, blowing up its library and causing huge damage. About 8,000 library books, which were used by high school and university students, were burned. The 14 men overpowered the centre's two security guards and then placed two bombs in the library and the main office. The latter did not explode. No one has been arrested for the attack yet. Over the past two years, several al-Qaeda-affiliated groups claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Christians and Christian institutions. It has been reported that these groups said that they would continue their attacks until all 3,000 Christians have left the Gaza Strip.

/. Praise the Lord that no one was injured in these attacks. Pray for the protection of the small Christian community in the Gaza Strip. Pray that God will strengthen and encourage them in the face of such opposition and danger./

Pauline Ayyad, the widow of the murdered Rami Ayyad, has given birth to a baby girl, Sama, which in Arabic means "Heaven". Rami Ayyad, who ran the Bible Society's bookshop in Gaza, was kidnapped and killed last October (see BarnabasAid Jan/Feb 08). No one has been arrested for the murder yet.

/. Please continue to pray for Pauline and her children, Sama, George (2) and Wisam (14 months). Pray that the Lord will provide for them and keep them safe. /

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EGYPT - SHADIA IBRAHIM RELEASED FROM PRISON

Shadia Ibrahim, who had been sentenced to three years in prison in November last year (see Prayer Focus Update December 2007), has been released. Her lawyer reports that "the attorney general felt that the judgement was made on the basis of erroneous information".

/. Thank the Lord for His faithfulness and that He hears our prayers. Praise Him for Shadia's release./

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VIETNAM - BOYS AND MAN BEATEN AT PRAYER MEETING

On 19 January Vietnamese security forces interrupted a prayer meeting where about 50 Christians had congregated. They told the Christians to leave, but detained four, one 43-year old man, A Then, and three boys, A Tuik, A Khoe and A Beng, aged 12 -13. They whipped the boys with bamboo sticks and beat A Then unconscious. He is still unable to walk.

The Vietnamese Constitution guarantees freedom of religion; however, in reality, the government controls all religious movements. Persecution of Christians is particularly harsh for ethnic minority and unregistered churches.

/. Please pray for the three boys and for A Then. Pray for healing and that the Lord will grant them His peace, so that this terrible experience will not deter them from following Jesus. Pray for all Christians in Vietnam, who daily face the danger of persecution./

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PAKISTAN - MUSLIM MOB ATTACKS LOCAL CHRISTIANS AND SERIOUSLY INJURES TWO

A Muslim mob attacked a church congregation with axes, knives, sticks and guns in a village in the district Sialkot in Punjab, Pakistan on 6 February. The Muslims attacked the Christians after a dispute about the behaviour of local Muslim youth, who had been drinking alcohol in the church courtyard and harassing young Christian women as they entered and left the building. When the Christian elders put in a formal complaint, this was met with defiance from the Muslim elders, and after an announcement in the local mosque, a group of Muslims gathered in the church courtyard and opened fire on the Christians present.

One member of the congregation, John Masih, was forced to kneel down before his attackers and had his eye removed with a dagger by one Muslim who said "We will take out eyes of every infidel who shall dare to look straight in our eyes." John's brother Khariat Masih, who came to help John, was attacked with an axe. Both are in a critical condition. Other villagers, including women and children, were dragged from their homes, beaten and tortured. The police refused to register the case against the attackers. Instead, they treated the matter as a "property dispute" and arrested a number of Christians.

/. Pray for the Christians injured in this attack, especially for John and Khariat. Pray for all the Christians in the village who were affected by this terrible event. Pray that the Lord will uphold them and strengthen them. Pray that He will enable them to forgive their attackers.

. Pray that authorities will act on behalf of these Christians and that justice will be brought about. Pray for the rest of the villagers, that they will stand up for their Christian neighbours. /

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PAKISTAN - DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN CONTINUES

The victory of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the elections on 18 February has been celebrated by many Pakistani Christians. The PPP's manifesto included a pledge to repeal Pakistan's controversial "blasphemy law", which is so easily misused against Christians and other non-Muslims. This is good news, especially in the light of a recent discriminatory government scheme designed to lift Pakistan's poorest households out of poverty. It offers savings on five basic foods to 6.8 million of Pakistan's poorest families. However, Christian families have been excluded from the scheme, even though many of them suffer from extreme poverty. Although the fund is contributed to by all taxpayers, only Muslims can benefit from it.

/. Praise the Lord for the outcome of the elections which offers hope for Christians and other minorities in Pakistan. Pray for wisdom in forming a coalition and for the PPP to be able to repeal the "blasphemy law". When in power in the past, the PPP tried to amend it, but were intimidated and threatened so much by Islamists that they were unable to make any very effective changes.

. Pray also that the government will reconsider the savings scheme for the poor to include Christians and other non-Muslims. /

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SOMALIA

Members of a house church in Hargeysa, Somaliland (former British protectorate, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but was never recognized as an independent state), were forced to flee to neighbouring Eritrea after hearing that the government was planning to arrest them. Their pastor was imprisoned on 3 December 07 and released a few days later, but has been placed under 24-hour surveillance by Somaliland security officials. During his imprisonment he was tortured in order to obtain the names of the members of his church. There have been reports that Somaliland's Criminal Investigation Department has been infiltrated with Islamic Jihadists "who have compiled a list containing the names of several Somali church leaders whom they have vowed to eliminate using the Somaliland justice system".

Islam is the official religion in Somaliland and Islamists are rapidly gaining influence. Christians are few in number and suffer severe persecution.

/. Pray for protection for the members of this house church and for their pastor. Pray that the Lord will keep them strong in their faith and provide for all their needs.

. Pray also for the political situation in Somaliland, that the growing power of Islamists will be stopped.