Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 163 | Wed 13 Jun 2012
EGYPT: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 16-17 JUNE (Plus Nigeria)
By Elizabeth Kendal
Egyptians are set to return to the polls over 16-17 June to elect their president. The two contenders -- the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Mubarak's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq -- are poles apart and 50 percent of voters did not vote for either of them in the preliminary polls. The youths who led the protests in Tahrir Square feel betrayed by the process. Rather than choose between political Islam and a secular police state -- something one described as a choice 'between two wrongs' -- they are organising a boycott.
On Thursday 14 June Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court will be ruling on the constitutionality of the Political Isolation Law which the Islamist-dominated parliament passed in April. The law, which bans senior officials of Mubarak's regime from holding political posts, saw Shafiq disqualified from contesting the presidency. However, Shafiq won an appeal against the law which was then referred to the Constitutional Court. If on 14 June the court declares the law valid, then Shafiq will again be disqualified and fresh elections will be called. Whilst the 'revolutionary' forces are hoping for a cancellation that would give them time to re-organise for fresh elections, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) want the elections to go ahead this weekend as they believe Morsi will have little trouble defeating Shafiq.
To seduce Christians, the MB signed an agreement with Egyptian evangelicals promising to advance religious freedom and equality. When Christianity Today questioned whether the MB could be trusted after reneging on its promise not to field a candidate for the presidency, MB representative Mahmoud Ghozlan responded by saying that the Islamic prophet Muhammad justified reneging on promises when he said: 'If someone swears by his right hand, saying "by God this or that" but then sees something better, he may atone for his right hand and take that which is better.' Ghozlan said the MB promised not to field a candidate before the parliamentary elections showed just how keen the nation is for Islam. After gaining dominance over the parliament, the MB deemed it would be 'better' for democracy if Egypt had a MB president. If the MB win the presidency it will doubtless deem fundamentalist Islam and Sharia Law 'better' than a pact with evangelicals.
The elections could cause a profound fracturing of the state and trigger a spasm of political and sectarian violence. As noted in RLPB 161, Islamists and revolutionary forces have unfairly and unjustifiably attributed the surprise rise of Shafiq (who ran on a platform of stability and security) to a conspiracy by the Coptic Church. Egypt's indigenous Christian Copts could well find themselves being set up as a convenient scapegoat for national anger, no matter who wins. Please pray for God's faithful in Egypt.
For updates on the Egyptian election see: Religious Liberty Monitoring
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* revive Egypt's churches and historically Christian peoples, so that lawlessness and threat will not hinder their preaching of the gospel, their commitment to prayer and their walk of faith: only through Christ shall Egypt be 'blessed' (Isaiah 19).
* awaken Egypt's Muslims to the fact that Islam is not the solution: though there be pain, may there be healing so that Egypt will 'return to the Lord' (Isaiah 19). [Egypt was overwhelmingly Christian before the Arab-Islamic conquests of the 7th Century.]
* give Coptic and other Christian leaders great spiritual discernment and wisdom to lead the church in faithfulness and hope and according to the will of the Lord.
* be a shield and refuge to those who put their trust in him; may he protect their families and provide all their needs.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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EGYPT: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 16-17 JUNE
Egypt's presidential election -- to take place this weekend unless cancelled by the Constitutional Court -- could readily fracture the state by triggering political and sectarian violence. To secure the evangelical vote, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) -- which has already broken its promise not to field a presidential candidate -- has signed an agreement with Egyptian evangelicals promising to advance religious freedom and equality. Meanwhile they are blaming the Coptic Church for the rise of their opponent Ahmed Shafiq. However, the MB might adhere to its Islamic principles and renege on a pact with evangelicals if it secures the presidency. Also there is great concern that Egypt's indigenous Christian Copts will be made the scapegoat for national anger no matter who wins. Please pray for God's faithful in Egypt.
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NIGERIA: TERROR STRIKES AGAIN
On Sunday 10 June a massive suicide car-bomb ripped through Christ's Chosen Assembly Church in Jos, in the central, middle-belt state of Plateau. The blast occurred around 11am during morning worship and was so powerful the church collapsed. Pastor Monday Uzoka, his wife and two children are amongst the wounded, with Uzoka and one of his elders in a critical condition. Meanwhile, gunmen opened fire inside and around the EYN church in Biu, in the north-eastern state of Borno. [EYN stands for 'Church of the Brethren in Nigeria' in the local Hausa (Muslim) language.] The weekend's toll was at least six believers dead and 52 hospitalised, with many still missing. Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for both attacks and vowed to continue attacking state institutions and churches 'until we achieve our goal of establishing an Islamic state in place of the secular state'.
REMINDER: The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has declared Saturday 16 June a day of national prayer and fasting for the country. Please continue in prayer for the Church in Nigeria.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
RLPB 162. Nigeria & Sudan: Jihad & Genocide (plus Tunisia)
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 162 | Wed 06 Jun 2012
NIGERIA & SUDAN: JIHAD AND GENOCIDE (Plus Tunisia)
By Elizabeth Kendal
NIGERIA: BOKO HARAM'S JIHAD
At least 15 people were killed and more than 40 seriously wounded on Sunday 3 June when a Boko Haram suicide bomber rammed his car into the checkpoint outside the Living Faith Church in the Yelwa Tudu area of Bauchi metropolis. The blast, that occurred around 9:20am, sent fire and shrapnel burning and slicing through believers who were chatting outside after the church's first worship service. The explosion also rocked Harvest Field Church 25m away across the road, causing part of the building to collapse on worshippers. The death toll is likely to rise, as some believers are still unaccounted for and many of the wounded are severely burned. The Islamic jihadist sect, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility. The Pastor of Harvest Church, Mbamingo Godia, has asked Christians not to retaliate in any way but pray to God for peace.
Increasingly Christians in Northern Nigeria are attending worship behind barricades and checkpoints constantly reminding them that jihadists are plotting to eliminate them. Attending worship is done at great risk. A photo obtained by Compass Direct News shows a little girl lying on the ground, covered in blood. Furthermore Muslim mobs are persisting with organised night raids against Christian communities. By murdering Christians in their beds the Muslims aim to instil terror and trigger an exodus that will have the effect of ethnic-religious cleansing. Their primary aim, however, is to pressure the government into acquiescing to their demand for Sharia (Islamic) Law. The murderous night raids have Qur'anic precedent: '. . . Our punishment came to them at night or while they were sleeping at noon.' (Sura 7:4) The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has declared Saturday 16 June a day of national prayer and fasting for the country. (Add this date to your diary so we might all pray in solidarity.)
SUDAN: KHARTOUM'S NUBA GENOCIDE
Khartoum's genocide against the non-Arab, non-Muslims of the 'New South' (Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile) has been raging for over a year now and shows no sign of abating. Film footage obtained by Al-Jazeera in late March shows the governor of South Kordofan, the indicted war criminal Ahmed Harun, addressing his soldiers before deployment to Nuba territory. 'You must hand over the place clean,' he says. 'Swept, rubbed, crushed. Don't bring them back alive. We have no space for them.' An army commander standing near Harun then adds, 'Don't bring them back, eat them alive.' (Al-Jazeera, 1 April) This is clearly a call to genocide.
According to the medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres, up to 4,000 people are fleeing into South Sudan every day to escape fighting in Sudan's Blue Nile province, with around 100,000 refugees already in camps across the border in South Sudan's Upper Nile State.
Further to this, famine is starting to set in for the displaced Nuba of South Kordofan. Some 38,000 Nuba refugees have fled over the border into South Sudan's Unity State. Yida refugee camp, which already holds 35,000 refugees, is bracing for an influx as refugees desperately trying to cross the border before the rains make travel impossible. Meanwhile, Khartoum continues its aerial bombardment of refugees and its blockade of humanitarian aid. Reporting from the Nuba Mountains, Nicholas Kristoff says (2 June) that around 800,000 Nuba have completely run out of food in South Kordofan, while some 50,000 are attempting the trek to Yida. However, starvation is taking its toll, with many travellers simply too weak to complete the journey. Samaritan's Purse reports that at least ten percent of the children arriving at Yida are acutely malnourished. Amjuma Ali Kuku, a teacher, says the camp is presently caring for some 2,000 unaccompanied children.
Why is this genocide attracting no attention? Is it because this genocide is an openly declared Islamic jihad and talking about it would risk being politically incorrect? Well, a genocidal Islamic jihad it is! And while the world looks away, hundreds of thousands of predominantly Christian Africans are being deliberately starved to death by the racist, Arab supremacist, Islamic regime in Khartoum.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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NIGERIA & SUDAN: JIHAD AND GENOCIDE
At least 15 people were killed and more than 40 seriously wounded on Sunday 3 June when a Boko Haram suicide bomber rammed his car into the checkpoint outside Living Faith Church in Bauchi city. The blast also rocked Harvest Field Church opposite, causing part of the building to collapse on worshippers. Also Christians are still being murdered by Muslim mobs in night raids throughout Northern Nigeria. In Sudan, meanwhile, the genocidal Islamic jihad being waged by the regime in Khartoum against the non-Arab, non-Muslim citizens of its 'New South' (Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile) advances unchallenged by the international community. Hundreds of thousands of predominantly Christian African Sudanese have flooded into South Sudan while hundreds of thousands more await death by forced starvation. Please pray for God to intervene.
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BREAKING NEWS: TUNISIA.
Not too long ago Tunisia was regarded as the most open, free and progressive of all Arab states. Yet recently released graphic footage filmed in Tunisia and aired on 'Egypt Today', shows a young male convert to Christianity being beheaded by Islamic militants. The militants recite the Qur'an and chant Islamic slogans and curses in Arabic while the 'apostate' -- who has refused to recant and is resigned to his fate -- remains still, quietly mouthing a prayer. Pray for those who have to live with the results of the 'Arab Spring'. (Middle East Forum, 4 June)
NIGERIA & SUDAN: JIHAD AND GENOCIDE (Plus Tunisia)
By Elizabeth Kendal
NIGERIA: BOKO HARAM'S JIHAD
At least 15 people were killed and more than 40 seriously wounded on Sunday 3 June when a Boko Haram suicide bomber rammed his car into the checkpoint outside the Living Faith Church in the Yelwa Tudu area of Bauchi metropolis. The blast, that occurred around 9:20am, sent fire and shrapnel burning and slicing through believers who were chatting outside after the church's first worship service. The explosion also rocked Harvest Field Church 25m away across the road, causing part of the building to collapse on worshippers. The death toll is likely to rise, as some believers are still unaccounted for and many of the wounded are severely burned. The Islamic jihadist sect, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility. The Pastor of Harvest Church, Mbamingo Godia, has asked Christians not to retaliate in any way but pray to God for peace.
Increasingly Christians in Northern Nigeria are attending worship behind barricades and checkpoints constantly reminding them that jihadists are plotting to eliminate them. Attending worship is done at great risk. A photo obtained by Compass Direct News shows a little girl lying on the ground, covered in blood. Furthermore Muslim mobs are persisting with organised night raids against Christian communities. By murdering Christians in their beds the Muslims aim to instil terror and trigger an exodus that will have the effect of ethnic-religious cleansing. Their primary aim, however, is to pressure the government into acquiescing to their demand for Sharia (Islamic) Law. The murderous night raids have Qur'anic precedent: '. . . Our punishment came to them at night or while they were sleeping at noon.' (Sura 7:4) The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has declared Saturday 16 June a day of national prayer and fasting for the country. (Add this date to your diary so we might all pray in solidarity.)
SUDAN: KHARTOUM'S NUBA GENOCIDE
Khartoum's genocide against the non-Arab, non-Muslims of the 'New South' (Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile) has been raging for over a year now and shows no sign of abating. Film footage obtained by Al-Jazeera in late March shows the governor of South Kordofan, the indicted war criminal Ahmed Harun, addressing his soldiers before deployment to Nuba territory. 'You must hand over the place clean,' he says. 'Swept, rubbed, crushed. Don't bring them back alive. We have no space for them.' An army commander standing near Harun then adds, 'Don't bring them back, eat them alive.' (Al-Jazeera, 1 April) This is clearly a call to genocide.
According to the medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres, up to 4,000 people are fleeing into South Sudan every day to escape fighting in Sudan's Blue Nile province, with around 100,000 refugees already in camps across the border in South Sudan's Upper Nile State.
Further to this, famine is starting to set in for the displaced Nuba of South Kordofan. Some 38,000 Nuba refugees have fled over the border into South Sudan's Unity State. Yida refugee camp, which already holds 35,000 refugees, is bracing for an influx as refugees desperately trying to cross the border before the rains make travel impossible. Meanwhile, Khartoum continues its aerial bombardment of refugees and its blockade of humanitarian aid. Reporting from the Nuba Mountains, Nicholas Kristoff says (2 June) that around 800,000 Nuba have completely run out of food in South Kordofan, while some 50,000 are attempting the trek to Yida. However, starvation is taking its toll, with many travellers simply too weak to complete the journey. Samaritan's Purse reports that at least ten percent of the children arriving at Yida are acutely malnourished. Amjuma Ali Kuku, a teacher, says the camp is presently caring for some 2,000 unaccompanied children.
Why is this genocide attracting no attention? Is it because this genocide is an openly declared Islamic jihad and talking about it would risk being politically incorrect? Well, a genocidal Islamic jihad it is! And while the world looks away, hundreds of thousands of predominantly Christian Africans are being deliberately starved to death by the racist, Arab supremacist, Islamic regime in Khartoum.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
- supernaturally draw the hearts of his people to him so that in their despair and desperation they might look to him for all things without losing heart, without losing faith; may he supply all their needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
- rupture all supply lines feeding weapons, funds and fighters into the various African jihads.
' . . . in the name of the LORD I cut them off!' (Psalm 118:10b,11b,12c)
- rise up in wrath and indignation, in justice and righteousness, against the wicked and arrogant regime of Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum. (Pray Psalm 10.)
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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NIGERIA & SUDAN: JIHAD AND GENOCIDE
At least 15 people were killed and more than 40 seriously wounded on Sunday 3 June when a Boko Haram suicide bomber rammed his car into the checkpoint outside Living Faith Church in Bauchi city. The blast also rocked Harvest Field Church opposite, causing part of the building to collapse on worshippers. Also Christians are still being murdered by Muslim mobs in night raids throughout Northern Nigeria. In Sudan, meanwhile, the genocidal Islamic jihad being waged by the regime in Khartoum against the non-Arab, non-Muslim citizens of its 'New South' (Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile) advances unchallenged by the international community. Hundreds of thousands of predominantly Christian African Sudanese have flooded into South Sudan while hundreds of thousands more await death by forced starvation. Please pray for God to intervene.
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BREAKING NEWS: TUNISIA.
Not too long ago Tunisia was regarded as the most open, free and progressive of all Arab states. Yet recently released graphic footage filmed in Tunisia and aired on 'Egypt Today', shows a young male convert to Christianity being beheaded by Islamic militants. The militants recite the Qur'an and chant Islamic slogans and curses in Arabic while the 'apostate' -- who has refused to recant and is resigned to his fate -- remains still, quietly mouthing a prayer. Pray for those who have to live with the results of the 'Arab Spring'. (Middle East Forum, 4 June)
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