AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

March 1, 2010

* GANG MEMBER CLAIMS MUSLIMS CONTROL BRITISH UNDERWORLD

* PUSH FOR ISLAMIC COURTS IN KENYA ALARMS CHRISTIANS

* DETAINED AMERICAN MISSIONARIES SET FREE IN HAITI

* U.K. POLICE WHO BELIEVE PRAYER CAN CUT CRIME GIVEN FINANCIAL GRANT

* GOD HAS NOT SURRENDERED TO ISLAM

* CHILD TRAFFICKERS POSING AS MISSIONARIES IN INDIA

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GANG MEMBER CLAIMS MUSLIMS CONTROL BRITISH UNDERWORLD

Blowing the whistle on gang life in Britain, Muslim gang member Amir issued the warning: “Britain’s underworld belongs to the Muslims.” The 21-year-old, whose organisation turns over thousands of pounds a day from drug-dealing and credit card scams, claims a fear of terrorism has allowed Muslims to develop a stranglehold on Britain’s criminal community. “People are frightened of us because they think we’re all in al-Qaeda,” he explains. Islamic gangs recruit new members in Britain’s jails, tempting them to convert to Islam in exchange for a cushier life inside.

Once released, the converted criminals have access to an entire network of Muslim criminal contacts – and are trusted because they pray to Allah. “Our status in the criminal hierarchy changed literally the day after 9/11. From then, Muslims have been associated with terrorism and people, including other criminals, are frightened of us. In the past 20 years we’ve capitalised on that. If we’re going to be thought of as extremists, why not use that fear? “The reality is that Muslim gangs don’t care much about religion, but with Islam comes fear, and with fear comes power.

“Religion is important to us only as a way of defining who we can trust and who we can work with.” Amir says. “Young Muslim gangs aren’t worried about what Allah makes of their criminal ways – they don’t believe in it to that extent. “Through religion we speak the same language, live in the same areas, go to the same schools and can even use mosques as a safe place away from the police or other gangs. If you try and mess with a Muslim gang you’d better be able to run fast or hide well, because they will come back at you in numbers.”

“Most of Britain’s prisons are dominated by Muslim gangs. Prison imams seek to convert prisoners by offering to recruit top lawyers to fight to get their sentences reduced if they convert. It is very tempting for prisoners to convert. Firstly, they receive protection without which life can be hell. “Secondly, every Friday Muslims are allowed prayer meetings. This is free time away from the guards, so they can plot, make new contacts and often discuss anti-Western ideology. Muslims also get better food as they get special Halal dishes stipulated by their religion.”

“Where the Muslim gangs come into their own is shifting drugs Amir says. If a white gang from London buys a kilo of coke, they then have to sell it. “The white gang will only know a few people in their area and won’t trust or be trusted by other gangs. But the Muslim network is vast and stretches up and down the UK, so they can shift drugs extremely quickly. The money-making potential of a Muslim gang is a hundred times that of a British or European gang.” Drug-dealing and credit card fraud are the areas in which Muslim gangs are most active.

In fact, drug dealers’ mobile phones have become a tradeable commodity. Amir says “A drug dealer’s mobile phone can be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Say they have 100 punters phoning that number every day asking for a fix – that means thousands of pounds of business. “The phone can be sold to another gang because the junkies who phone in don’t care who is dropping off their drugs, they’ll just keep calling. “I’ve heard of SIM cards selling for up to £250,000.”

According to Amir, Muslim gangs recruit early. “Kids in ethnic areas either join a gang or end up being bullied. So to avoid a life of hell a kid joins a gang. Once you’re in, life is easy, no more beatings, people to talk to, stuff to do. After school you graduate into more serious gang activity because you need to make money. “A boss can make up to £8,000 a day and a worker can make £1,000. “Ten years ago Asian gangs used to fight white gangs, but now we have no one to compete with other than our own. Muslims have this country under control. Nobody can touch us.”

Source: The UK Sun

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PUSH FOR ISLAMIC COURTS IN KENYA ALARMS CHRISTIANS

A constitutional battle to expand the scope of Islamic courts in Kenya threatens to ignite religious tensions at a time when authorities are on high alert against Muslim extremists with ties to Somalia. Constitutional provisions for Islamic or Kadhis’ courts have existed in Kenya since 1963, with the courts serving the country’s coastal Muslim population in matters of personal status, marriage, divorce, or inheritance. Kenya’s secular High Court has jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters, and even a decision in the Islamic courts can be appealed at the High Court.

The Islamic courts have functioned only in Kenya’s Coast Province, but in a hotly debated draft constitution, their jurisdiction would expand across the nation and their scope would increase. The proposed constitution has gathered enough momentum that 23 leaders of churches and Christian organizations released a statement asserting their opposition to any inclusion of such religious courts. “It is clear that the Muslim community is basically carving for itself an Islamic state within a state,” the Kenyan church leaders stated.

“This is a state with its own sharia law, compliant banking system; its own sharia-compliant insurance; and it is now pressing for its own judicial system.” Muslim leaders are striving to expand the scope of Islamic courts to include civil and small claims cases and to upgrade the Muslim tribunals to High Court status. These demands have alarmed Christians, who make up 80 percent of the population. Muslims make up 10 percent of Kenya’s 39 million people, 9 percent of the population follows indigenous religions and less than 1 percent are Hindu, Sikh and Baha’i.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) said the Committee responsible for the draft of a new constitutional ignored their concerns. Rev. Canon Peter Karanja, NCCK general secretary said that ignoring the concerns of Christians did little to build consensus. He said that unless the Islamic courts are stricken from the constitution, Christians might be forced to reject the document in a national referendum later this year. A similar referendum in 2005 split the country and sparked rioting, reportedly leaving 1,300 people dead.

Christian leaders see the attempt to expand the scope of the Islamic courts as part of a long-term strategy by Muslims to gain political, economic and judicial power. Muslim leaders claim that inclusion of the Islamic courts in the new constitution would recognize “a basic religious right” for a minority group. Some Muslim extremists say that if Islamic courts are removed from the draft constitution, they will demand their own state and introduce sharia. The emergence of Islamic terror cells in Kenya coincides with the swelling of the Somali population in the country to 2.4 million.

Source: Intercessors Network

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DETAINED AMERICAN MISSIONARIES SET FREE IN HAITI

Eight of the ten detained American missionaries accused of kidnapping Haitian children following the January 12earthquake, are now on American soil. The missionaries were set free by a judge marking a turning point in a 3 week saga that irked Haitian leaders who complained it had became a distraction from their immense rebuilding task.” The Americans were arrested with a busload of 33 children, for having inadequate documentation whilst removing them from the country. The missionaries have maintained they were only seeking to help victims of the earthquake.

Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said 8 of the 10 missionaries were free to leave without bail because parents of the children had testified they voluntarily gave their children to them believing the Americans would give them a better life. He said, however, that he still wanted to question the group’s leader, Laura Silsby, and her former nanny, Charisa Coulter. Silsby and Coulter are being held because they had made a previous trip to Haiti during which they visited a Haitian orphanage. “I want to know why she came and what she did at this orphanage,” Judge Saint-Vil said.

Silsby will remain in jail, but Coulter, who suffers from diabetes, was moved to a hospital. Judge Saint-Vil, also said he wanted to ask Ms. Silsby when she met her lawyer Jorge Puello. Claims have been made that Puello isn’t a lawyer but a fugitive wanted by El Salvador on charges of child trafficking and people smuggling. Mr. Saint-Vil said “we obviously need to make sure that Ms. Silsby and Mr. Puello didn’t know each other before the missionaries were arrested.” Puello said that he hadn’t met any of the missionaries before they were arrested.

It is unclear if Silsby and Coulter still face charges of child abduction and criminal conspiracy, which carry prison terms of up to 15 years. Those released will be required to return for any legal proceedings if required. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defence Coalition, which has been lobbying the Haitian government on the missionaries’ behalf, said: “The issue is not that these were kidnappers, but that they did not have the proper paperwork. Do you put someone in jail and threaten them with 15 years’ prison because they don’t have proper paperwork?”

Source: ASSIST News Service

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U.K. POLICE WHO BELIEVE PRAYER CAN CUT CRIME GIVEN FINANCIAL GRANT

A Christian policing group which believes that prayer can catch criminals and keep officers safe from harm has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Home Office to widen its involvement with local church groups. The Christian Police Association (CPA) wants members of the public to “adopt a cop” by praying for the safety of local officers as they ply their beats. The organisation which boasts 2,000 members, claims that there is “circumstantial evidence” to suggest that regular prayer can help reduce crime rates and encourage criminals to make a new start to their lives.

They are launching a new initiative called “CoAct”, which is partly funded by a £10,000 Home Office grant, to improve links between local church groups and police officers and encourage congregations to act as “peacemakers” in areas where gang violence and antisocial behaviour is high. Don Axcell, a retired Metropolitan Police sergeant who heads the CPA, said “We want people to pray for the police, and to fully interact with the service.” Mr Axcell said that domestic burglary had came down by 30 per cent in an area that was regularly covered in prayer.”

Les Isaacs, the founder of the influential Street Pastors movement, which patrols more than 70 cities across the country helping drunken revellers and diffusing gang tensions, says church groups already play a strong role in tackling antisocial behaviour. “The approach has to be both pragmatic and spiritual,” he said. “Prayer makes a tangible difference, we see it every day. If you pray for the well-being of the community around you will see people physically become less aggressive.”

Matt Baggott, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and president of the Christian Police Association, said CoAct would be a “great way of giving police officers the support, care and encouragement that they need and value”. A Home Office spokesman added: “We have given the Christian Police Association a one-off grant of £10,000 to support its ongoing work to improve community safety, tackle antisocial behaviour and reduce violence.”

Source: UK Independent

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GOD HAS NOT SURRENDERED TO ISLAM

A tsunami of faith is quietly overtaking the Muslim world. Islamic adherents are switching their allegiance from Muhammad to Jesus Christ, despite the social ostracism, persecution and possible martyrdom that converts to Christianity face. Propelled by dreams, visions and miracles, this wave of revival is bringing vast numbers of Muslims, some say millions, into God’s kingdom. Middle East expert Joel Rosenberg believes more Muslims have come to faith in Christ in the last 30 years than at any time in history with the vast majority happening since 9/11.

One missionary to Iran, who asked to remain anonymous, says a “tremendous” number of Muslims there are seeing that “Islam as a religion has failed them personally, economically, spiritually and socially.” Tom Doyle, the Middle East director for Dallas-based e3 Partners, an independent missions agency, says his group planted 127 churches last year in the region, a significant upswing since the start of the decade. He says the news from the Middle East is awakening Christians in the West and showing them that, despite headline-grabbing terrorists, all is not lost.

“We’ve seen 1,000 Muslims come to Christ this year in Syria alone,” Doyle says. “All the partner ministries we work with say this is the new revival.” However, California pastor Hormoz Shariat, whose International Antioch Ministries broadcasts by satellite to the Middle East and Europe, cautions against fixing specific numbers to salvations because “it provokes the government and hurts the church in Iran,” Shariat says. “But our network is growing fast. Every day we have stories of dreams and visions and miracles.”

Source: Charisma Magazine

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CHILD TRAFFICKERS POSING AS MISSIONARIES IN INDIA

There are fears in Northeast India, that criminals are disguising themselves as missionaries in order to traffic children. Last month, over seventy malnourished children from that area were rescued from a home to which families had sent their children on the promise of them being give an education or employment. It is believed that the children, aged from 6 to 15, were kept in poor conditions and made to do menial work such as cooking and laundry. There have been reports of children dying in suspicious circumstances and of being molested and abused in such homes.

Source: The Christian Post

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