AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* ISLAMIC MILITANTS IMPLEMENT THREATS TO KILL CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

* TALIBANISATION OF KARACHI BEGINS AS TALIBAN MOVES TO TAKEOVER PAKISTAN

* CHRISTIAN REFUGEES TELL OF STRONG BUT PERSECUTED CHURCH IN NORTH KOREA

* CHRISTIANS ASSIST THE DISPLACED IN SRI LANKA

* INDONESIA TELLS INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS TO LEAVE PAPUA

* WEDDING RINGS FIND A NEW USE

* BUDDHIST MOBS ATTACK CHURCHES IN SRI LANKA

* PRAYING WOMAN IMPRISONED IN VIETNAM

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ISLAMIC MILITANTS IMPLEMENT THREATS TO KILL CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

The following message has been posted on various Islamic websites in Iraq: “The General Secretariat of the Adherent of Islam Brigade has decided to address this final warning to the infidel Christian Crusaders and order you to leave immediately, and permanently from the Muslim countries. There is no place for you infidel Christians among the Muslim believers in Iraq from now on. Otherwise, our swords will be legalized over your neck.The letter is part of a determined Islamist campaign to drive out the Christian community from Iraq. Although the Christians, as ethnic Assyrians, are the indigenous people of Iraq, Muslim extremists are trying to “cleanse” the country of their supposedly defiling presence. In the face of threats such as these, which are often followed through in violence and even murder, the Christian population has dwindled from 1.5 million in 1990 and today may number no more than 400,000.Last Sunday in Kirkuk Islamic militants attacked and killed 3 Christians and injured two others. The manner of the killings suggests premeditated execution, intended to send a warning to Iraqi Christians and foster a climate of fear. They recall the violence of last October in Mosul, when thousands of Christians fled from their homes in the northern city of Mosul. Fearing a similar exodus from Kirkuk, church and government leaders have called on the Christian community to stand firm and not be intimidated. The vice-president of Iraq has called upon Christians “not to leave the country” and has requested the international community to give “help and protection” against the militants. The forthcoming withdrawal of American troops from the country is likely to make the churches’ position even more perilous. They need our prayerful support to sustain them in their time of need.Please pray* for the Christians of Iraq, that the Lord may protect them from further acts of violence. Pray for the families and churches of the three people killed, and for those recovering from their injuries.* for the Iraqi authorities, that they may bring those responsible for the murders to justice, and have wisdom to restrain the advance of militant Islamism in the country. Pray that they may safeguard the security and freedoms of Iraqi Christians.

Source: Barnabas Fund

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TALIBANISATION OF KARACHI BEGINS AS TALIBAN MOVES TO TAKEOVER PAKISTAN

The Talibanisation of Karachi city began with an attack by armed Taliban on a Christian colony. The attack was well organized and heavy firearms were used by hundreds of Taliban to threaten unarmed Christian elders, women and children. More than one hundred masked Taliban attacked Christians with heavy machine guns dragging women by their hair into the streets. They yelled loudly saying “You infidels have to convert to Islam or die.” Slogans urging Christians to accept Islam were chalked on Church walls in Taseer Town which horrified Christian residents. In response local Christians conducted a peaceful procession in the vicinity of Taseer Town in an unsuccessful attempt to attract the attention of local administration to the need for protection of the residents. This action further inflamed the Taliban resulting in two Christians being executed in front of their families and dozens of others beaten.. Nazir S Bhatti, President of the Pakistan Christian Congress condemned the attack and urged the government to provide protection to Christians in Pakistan who are unarmed and peaceful. He said “ The Taliban are planning to expand Sharia law into Karachi and the Christian colony is their first target.” Dr Bhatti appealed to USA and EU to press upon the government of Pakistan to take necessary measure to stop the Talibanisation and subsequent spread of Sharia law in Pakistan.Nazir Bhatti also urged the Pakistani administration to provide security, shelter and financial support to Christians and ensure religious freedom is maintained. The Pakistan Christian Congress have already filed a petition with the United Nations to award refugee status to Christians and others persecuted by Islamic laws in Pakistan.The Taliban have made clear their intention to take over the whole of Pakistan. The current Inspector General of police of the North Western Frontier Province, told the Pakistani parliament that the Taliban and Al Qaeda ‘are present in every city and town of Pakistan in some places they are active, in others they are dormant.’ He added that jihadi groups were moving through southern Punjab and that the Al Qaeda-Taliban combine had developed some expertise in biochemical weapons

Source: Pakistan Christian Post

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CHRISTIAN REFUGEES TELL OF STRONG BUT PERSECUTED CHURCH IN NORTH KOREA

Even as the North Korean government recently allowed two high-profile Christian bands to perform at a music festival in Pyongyang, the fear of punishment that authorities have instilled in North Korean Christians keeps most of them from publicly revealing their faith. As many as 400,000 Christians are estimated to worship secretly in the country, whilst more than 200,000 North Koreans (of which at least 40,000 are believed to be Christian) are estimated to be held in political prison camps for various perceived “disloyalties” to the regime, including adherence to Christianity. A delegation of North Korean refugees spoke of their experiences prior to fleeing their native country as part of North Korea Freedom Week held in New York recently. They told how North Korea is preparing its citizens for war informing its people that the world hates North Korea and that the world is about to attack North Korea. Whilst of course not true the use of that kind of rhetoric internally, when there’s no other source of information, creates a sort of wartime mentality that North Korean leaders use most effectively to control and constrain their population.Rations have also been cut back for North Korean citizens, creating further instability. Underground Christians in the country use all this as motivation for evangelism. There’s an opportunity in the midst of this ongoing chaos for the church to come together, to unite and to be a place of stability and hope during this very, very difficult time. Just years ago, South Korea was as closed as the North. Pray that God would revive North Korea in the same way.

Source: Intercessors Network

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CHRISTIANS ASSIST THE DISPLACED IN SRI LANKA

Conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam forces has left tens of thousands of citizens displaced within the South Asian island nation. The United Nations estimates that some 60,000 civilians are trapped in the conflict zone in northeastern Sri Lanka where they lack adequate food, water and medical facilities. Approximately 150,000 displaced people are living in government camps with limited water supplies.The humanitarian situation is dire. Churches and Christian organizations have joined together to provide milk, biscuits, medicine and drinking water to persons in need. The civil war between the government in Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebel group first erupted in 1983. The Tamils, who accuse the Sinhalese government of discrimination, want an independent state in the north east of the island. Since the beginning of the conflict, approximately 70,000 persons have been killed. An estimated 6,400 people have been killed and more than 13,000 wounded in the conflict area since January 2009.The Religious Liberty Partnership, a coalition made up of evangelical agencies, launched a global prayer campaign. “They also call on the church worldwide to pray not only for the situation of the people who are caught in the middle of this conflict, but also the potential of anti-conversion laws being invoked.”

Source: Baptist World Alliance

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INDONESIA TELLS INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS TO LEAVE PAPUA

Indonesia has ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross to leave the Papua region after its officials visited separatists in jail. The foreign ministry in Jakarta says the government is offended both by the ICRC’s failure to obtain proper permission to operate in Papua and by the prison visits. Its spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, says the ICRC should not abuse Indonesia’s democratic reform and act as though it can do whatever suits its interests.The ICRC says it runs sanitation projects in Papua and also visits detainees, including jailed members of the separatist Free Papua Movement, to ensure they are treated properly. The head of the ICRC’s Indonesia delegation, Vincent Nicod, says it’s part of the ICRC’s activity relating to international humanitarian law to ensure that political prisoners are provided worldwide with decent conditions. The dispute comes amid a surge in violence coinciding with the commencement of the Indonesian election process.

Source: Radio New Zealand International

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WEDDING RINGS FIND A NEW USE

Ali Eastburn is executive director and founder of an organisation known as With This Ring. Eastburn says she got the idea for the organization while attending a women’s conference. “I looked around the room and looked at the rings on the fingers of the women as well as my own and realized how much wealth there was in the room” she recalls. “And so I decided that, with my husband’s permission, I wanted to donate the ring. And then I told a girlfriend about it and she said, ‘I want to donate mine, too.’” Those two diamonds laid the foundation for a “movement of radical generosity.” Eastburn says her organization encourages radical giving, whether it is a wedding ring, or other jewellery items. Some have even donated money from selling a car or a home she says. Eastburn says she is not trying to devalue marriage. “Most of those who give love their husband very much, but they look down and realize they’ve got $7,000 to $8,000 sitting on their finger and that it could save 1,500 people’s lives.” So far With This Ring has provided the funds to drill eight clean water wells in Africa with five more in the wings.

Source: OneNewsNow

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BUDDHIST MOBS ATTACK CHURCHES IN SRI LANKA

Buddhist mobs have attacked several churches in Sri Lanka, threatening to kill a pastor and ransacking a 150-year-old Methodist church building in the capital. Four Buddhist extremists approached the home of pastor Pradeep Kumara, calling for him to come out and threatening to kill him. The pastor said his wife, at home alone with their two children, phoned him immediately but by the time he returned the men had left. Half an hour later, Kumar said, the leader of the group phoned him and again threatened to kill him if he did not leave the village by the following morning. Later that night the group leader returned to the house and ordered the pastor to come out. “My children were frightened,” Kumara said. “I tried to reason with him to go away, but he continued to bang on the door and threaten us.” Earlier, another group of men broke into the 150-year-old Methodist Church in Colombo.Witnesses said they saw them load goods into a white van parked outside the church early the next morning. They removed everything, including valuable musical instruments, a computer, Bibles, hymn books and all the church records.

Source: Intercessors Network

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PRAYING WOMAN IMPRISONED IN VIETNAM

Concern is growing for a Vietnamese Christian who has not been seen since officials seized her a year ago. Puih H’Bat, an ethnic minority Montagnard and a mother of four children, ran into trouble by leading prayer meetings in her home in Ploi Bang village. Police raided one such meeting at Puih’s home on April 9, last year. Officers tried to force all 20 Christians present to sign documents agreeing to join the government-sanctioned Evangelical Church of Vietnam. They all refused. Two days later, at 4am, the police arrested Puih and took her into custody.Puih’s plight has now reached the attention of the European Commission (EC) which says it is ‘closely monitoring’ her case. EC sources suggest that Puih H’Bat has been convicted of the ‘destruction of the unity of the people’s solidarity’ and sentenced to five years in jail, according to news agencies. Security officials have reportedly told Puih’s family she is in T-20 prison in Pleiku – but have not allowed them to visit her. Puih’s four children are currently being cared for by her elderly mother. Puih’s estranged husband has fled to the US.

Source: Intercessors Network

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Related Articles:

• Pray for the World 6 February 2012
• PRAYER OF A HUMBLE SERVANT
• Prayers for Help in Times of Trouble
• Pray for the World (January 31, 2012)
• Pray for the World January 25, 2012

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