Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 171 | Wed 08 Aug 2012
EGYPT: CHRISTIAN VULNERABILITY GROWS AS SECURITY DECLINES
By Elizabeth Kendal
The rigours of Ramadan observance ensure that as Ramadan progresses frustration accumulates. This, merged with religious zeal, produces an incendiary mix. On Wednesday 25 July a dispute erupted in the village of Dahshur on the southern outskirts of Cairo, after a Coptic launderer inadvertently singed the shirt of his Muslim client. The Muslim agreed to return in the evening to settle the claim but returned in the afternoon with a vengeful mob. With a large crowd of armed Muslims besieging his home and laundrette, the Copt threw a Molotov cocktail from the roof. It hit and severely burnt a Muslim youth passing by. When he died in hospital on 1 August, Muslim Brotherhood clerics, instead of rising up as peacemakers, incited Islamic hysteria and vowed collective punishment. The ensuing Islamic pogrom left 16 Copts injured, numerous Coptic homes and businesses torched and the only church in the village vandalised. This violence included threats to shoot all Christians dead and convinced some 120 Christian families they had no choice but to flee. Only one elderly Christian woman remained, receiving sanctuary in the home of a Muslim neighbour.
Whilst a wide range of independent sources -- local and international, religious and secular -- corroborate this version of events, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) press release presents a different picture. It denies the pogrom was sectarian, claiming 'the Christian [deliberately] poured acid and gasoline over the Muslim' to kill him and falsely boasts that the MB immediately intervened to 'contain people's anger'. Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said the Copts' exodus from Dahshur should not be considered a 'displacement' as the Copts left their homes willingly! The Shoura Chamber (Parliamentary Advisory Council) is forming a committee to go to Dahshur 'to reconcile the citizens'. But the senior vice president of the National Council for Human Rights, Mohammed Fayek, notes: 'One reason [for] the sectarian tension in Egypt is impunity. The continuation of treating . . . sectarian incidents . . . through what is known to the media as "reconciliation sessions" enables criminals to get away with it and [contributes to] the recurrence of such incidents.' At this point, three Copts and no Muslims have been arrested.
On Sunday evening 5 August some 35 Islamic jihadists raided an Egyptian military base in north Sinai, killing 16 Egyptian soldiers and stealing two armoured vehicles. One vehicle exploded as it crashed into the border fence while the second vehicle, laden with suicide-vest-wearing jihadists, penetrated into Israel. There it was eventually neutralised by an Israeli Armed Forces air-strike close to the Kerem Shalom border crossing. (Movements through the Rafa Crossing are monitored at Kerem Shalom which is close to where the Gaza, Israel and Egypt borders meet.) President Morsi, who has spent months building bridges with Hamas, had little choice but to close the Rafa Crossing into Gaza. Ridiculously, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists have accused Israel of staging the attack to force the closure. Anti-Semitism, on the rise in Egypt, goes into overdrive on Egyptian TV during Ramadan. But as anti-Semitism grows increasingly fashionable and is associated with Egyptian nationalism, it will become increasingly difficult politically to counter terrorism.
President Morsi is appealing for tolerance, demanding justice and promising to improve security. He has labelled the jihadists 'infidels' and appealed to Copts to return to their homes. In a state of chronic decline, Egypt is surviving on aid. It cannot afford to offend donors lest it runs out of money, fuel and bread and erupts in massive internal unrest. As it is, sectarian clashes are escalating, Christians are emigrating, tourism is plummeting, violence (especially against women) is pervasive and the Sinai is slipping out of control. The MB and Salafis will react strongly against the closure of the Rafa Crossing and any attempt to prosecute Muslims for 'punishing' Christians. As poverty and insecurity escalate, the plight of Christians can only deteriorate.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT --
* as escalating hardship leads to disillusionment and despair, Egyptians will not turn to rioting and killing their neighbours, but to reflection and a search for truth with open hearts and minds.
* God will bless and multiply all Christian witness and ministry to Arabs through radio, satellite, internet, literature and personal witness.
God has promised that Egypt will know the LORD. 'Among those who know me [Yahweh] I mention Rahab [Egypt] and Babylon . . .' (Psalm 87:4a ESV). Then the LORD will say, ' Blessed be Egypt my people . . .' (from Isaiah 19:25).
* God will draw Egypt's vulnerable Christians close, hear and answer their prayers, provide all their needs and perfect their faith; may the Christians of Dahshur be able to return to their homes in security, and may justice be served on those who incited and led this sectarian pogrom. Pray Psalm 23 for Egypt's Christians.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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CHRISTIAN VULNERABILITY GROWS IN EGYPT AS SECURITY DECLINES
On 1 August a massive Islamic pogrom occurred on the outskirts of Cairo. A Muslim took offence when a Coptic launderer accidentally singed his shirt. Rejecting the Copt's offer of compensation, the Muslim returned with a large mob and attacked his business. The Copt threw a Molotov cocktail, unintentionally hitting a young Muslim bystander. When the youth died a few days later, Islamic clerics incited the pogrom as collective punishment of the Copts. The violence and death threats forced virtually the entire local Christian community of some 120 families to flee. Elsewhere, on 5 August Islamic jihadists based in the Sinai killed 16 Egyptian soldiers and penetrated into Israel. Money, fuel, bread, tourism and security are all in decline in Egypt. Tensions are high. Please pray for Egypt's vulnerable Christians.
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TWO URGENT UPDATES
IRAN: Imprisoned Protestant pastor Benham Irani (41) (see RLPB 169) has developed a blood infection. His life hangs in the balance. Please pray.
NIGERIA: On Monday evening 6 August up to 10 gunmen stormed a Bible study in the Deeper Life Church in Okene, Kogi State, 250km south-west of Abuja, cutting off the lights and opening fire with assault rifles. At least 19 believers including the pastor are dead with many more wounded. Please pray.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
RLPB 170. SYRIA + Sudan and Burma: the Battles Rage
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 170 | Wed 01 Aug 2012
SYRIA, SUDAN, BURMA: THE BATTLES RAGE
By Elizabeth Kendal
SYRIA
On Sunday 29 July the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Jim Middleton spoke to Prof. Vali Nasr about Syria's prospects. Nasr confirmed that al Qaeda was indeed gaining ground in Syria. He expressed concern that in the event of regime collapse, it is not clear who would 'prevent a massacre of the Alawites and the Christians and those Sunnis who supported Assad'. He also said it was not clear who would 'prevent al-Qaeda from setting up shop in various little emirates across Syria'. Furthermore, Nasr warned that should the regime fall 'in a bad way' then the whole region -- especially Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan -- will be massively impacted and destabilised.
THE BATTLE FOR ALEPPO
The battle for Aleppo is a decisive one. With a population of 2.5 million, Aleppo is Syria's second largest city after Damascus, and its commercial hub. Home to swaths of loyalist Sunni Arab and Kurdish business elite, Christians make up some 10 percent of the population of the city. Around half of them are Armenians, with the remainder belonging to the Syrian, Greek Orthodox and Maronite churches. Jihadists are pouring in for the battle. Syrian Sunni jihadists who have been fighting with al Qaeda against US forces in Iraq are returning home in droves. The West called them 'terrorists' in Iraq. In Syria it calls them 'rebels', 'insurgents' and 'opposition'. Furthermore foreign jihadists are coming in from the Caucasus, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Algeria and Gulf Arab states as well as Europe, including Britain, Sweden and France. It is not uncommon to see the Islamist black flag flying on rebel vehicles or hoisted in rebel-held areas, yet Western journalists seem as oblivious to this as they are to the Islamist beards, chants and overt threats. Still holding out dreams of 'democracy' these journalists also seem oblivious to the long-term global consequences of Islamist sanctuaries in Syria.
It is reported that Aleppo's Armenian community has hunkered down for the duration. Other Christians are doubtless doing the same. Some Christians, though, feel their only option is to take up arms to fight for the survival of their family. The battle has not yet reached the Christian quarters. However, a standard tactic in Islamist asymmetric warfare is to use women and children -- and Christians wherever possible -- as human shields and then exploit their deaths for propaganda in the West. Therefore we can expect jihadists will attempt to deliberately infiltrate Christian districts not only to kill Christians (whom they want to eliminate anyway) but also to draw the regime's return fire into those districts. Indeed, only the LORD of hosts can prevent this.
SUDAN AND BURMA
Watching and listening to the news, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Syrian conflict was the world's only war. On the contrary, regimes are waging war against predominantly Christian peoples in South Kordofan, Sudan and in Kachin State, Burma. The difference is, whilst the West is for regime change in Syria, it is against changing the brutal, Islamist, racist, Arab-supremacist regime in Khartoum, Sudan and the brutal, Buddhist-nationalist, racist Burman-supremacist regime in Burma. In each case, the Christians are on the wrong side of Western economic and geo-strategic interests! In each case, Christian peoples -- children, parents, the elderly -- are suffering immensely with hunger, tears, spilt blood and broken bones. However, this is being covered up continuously and without discernment by lazy, conformist media -- apparently ignorant of historical and religious realities -- who are echoing the official line. Surely God is NOT pleased.
For more on Syria, Sudan and Burma see Religious Liberty Monitoring.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL --
* by the power of the Holy Spirit draw his people close and increase their faith so they will hope in him (Psalm 33:18) and see answers to their prayers (Isaiah 30:19); may the devil have no victory over them.
* rise up to defend, shield and supply his precious people and vanquish their enemies. (Isaiah 40:10,11)
* raise his right arm against all jihadists and jihadist-allied forces in Syria, the regime of Omar el-Bashir in Khartoum, Sudan, and the Burmese junta in Naypyidaw; may those who seek to annihilate God's precious children succeed only in securing God's furious wrath. (Isaiah 31:4,5).
'But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenceless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (Psalm 141:8-10 ESV)
With whole Christian communities facing existential threat, consider Psalm 33:8-19.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BATTLES RAGE IN SYRIA, SUDAN and BURMA
The battle for Aleppo is decisive. Jihadists are pouring in from around the world for this battle, fighting not for Syria, but for Islam. The Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of Aleppo's 2.5 million population, are gravely imperilled. Whilst the fighting has not yet reached the Christian quarters, the jihadists doubtless know the propaganda coup they could score by drawing the regime's fire into the Christian districts. Please pray for God's protection. Meanwhile, wars continue to rage against Christian communities in South Kordofan, Sudan and Kachin State, Burma. In all these cases, the Christians are finding themselves on the wrong side of Western economic and geo-strategic 'interests'. Please pray for God to rise up on behalf of his precious people.
SYRIA, SUDAN, BURMA: THE BATTLES RAGE
By Elizabeth Kendal
SYRIA
On Sunday 29 July the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Jim Middleton spoke to Prof. Vali Nasr about Syria's prospects. Nasr confirmed that al Qaeda was indeed gaining ground in Syria. He expressed concern that in the event of regime collapse, it is not clear who would 'prevent a massacre of the Alawites and the Christians and those Sunnis who supported Assad'. He also said it was not clear who would 'prevent al-Qaeda from setting up shop in various little emirates across Syria'. Furthermore, Nasr warned that should the regime fall 'in a bad way' then the whole region -- especially Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan -- will be massively impacted and destabilised.
THE BATTLE FOR ALEPPO
The battle for Aleppo is a decisive one. With a population of 2.5 million, Aleppo is Syria's second largest city after Damascus, and its commercial hub. Home to swaths of loyalist Sunni Arab and Kurdish business elite, Christians make up some 10 percent of the population of the city. Around half of them are Armenians, with the remainder belonging to the Syrian, Greek Orthodox and Maronite churches. Jihadists are pouring in for the battle. Syrian Sunni jihadists who have been fighting with al Qaeda against US forces in Iraq are returning home in droves. The West called them 'terrorists' in Iraq. In Syria it calls them 'rebels', 'insurgents' and 'opposition'. Furthermore foreign jihadists are coming in from the Caucasus, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Algeria and Gulf Arab states as well as Europe, including Britain, Sweden and France. It is not uncommon to see the Islamist black flag flying on rebel vehicles or hoisted in rebel-held areas, yet Western journalists seem as oblivious to this as they are to the Islamist beards, chants and overt threats. Still holding out dreams of 'democracy' these journalists also seem oblivious to the long-term global consequences of Islamist sanctuaries in Syria.
It is reported that Aleppo's Armenian community has hunkered down for the duration. Other Christians are doubtless doing the same. Some Christians, though, feel their only option is to take up arms to fight for the survival of their family. The battle has not yet reached the Christian quarters. However, a standard tactic in Islamist asymmetric warfare is to use women and children -- and Christians wherever possible -- as human shields and then exploit their deaths for propaganda in the West. Therefore we can expect jihadists will attempt to deliberately infiltrate Christian districts not only to kill Christians (whom they want to eliminate anyway) but also to draw the regime's return fire into those districts. Indeed, only the LORD of hosts can prevent this.
SUDAN AND BURMA
Watching and listening to the news, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Syrian conflict was the world's only war. On the contrary, regimes are waging war against predominantly Christian peoples in South Kordofan, Sudan and in Kachin State, Burma. The difference is, whilst the West is for regime change in Syria, it is against changing the brutal, Islamist, racist, Arab-supremacist regime in Khartoum, Sudan and the brutal, Buddhist-nationalist, racist Burman-supremacist regime in Burma. In each case, the Christians are on the wrong side of Western economic and geo-strategic interests! In each case, Christian peoples -- children, parents, the elderly -- are suffering immensely with hunger, tears, spilt blood and broken bones. However, this is being covered up continuously and without discernment by lazy, conformist media -- apparently ignorant of historical and religious realities -- who are echoing the official line. Surely God is NOT pleased.
For more on Syria, Sudan and Burma see Religious Liberty Monitoring.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL --
* by the power of the Holy Spirit draw his people close and increase their faith so they will hope in him (Psalm 33:18) and see answers to their prayers (Isaiah 30:19); may the devil have no victory over them.
* rise up to defend, shield and supply his precious people and vanquish their enemies. (Isaiah 40:10,11)
* raise his right arm against all jihadists and jihadist-allied forces in Syria, the regime of Omar el-Bashir in Khartoum, Sudan, and the Burmese junta in Naypyidaw; may those who seek to annihilate God's precious children succeed only in securing God's furious wrath. (Isaiah 31:4,5).
'But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenceless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (Psalm 141:8-10 ESV)
With whole Christian communities facing existential threat, consider Psalm 33:8-19.
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BATTLES RAGE IN SYRIA, SUDAN and BURMA
The battle for Aleppo is decisive. Jihadists are pouring in from around the world for this battle, fighting not for Syria, but for Islam. The Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of Aleppo's 2.5 million population, are gravely imperilled. Whilst the fighting has not yet reached the Christian quarters, the jihadists doubtless know the propaganda coup they could score by drawing the regime's fire into the Christian districts. Please pray for God's protection. Meanwhile, wars continue to rage against Christian communities in South Kordofan, Sudan and Kachin State, Burma. In all these cases, the Christians are finding themselves on the wrong side of Western economic and geo-strategic 'interests'. Please pray for God to rise up on behalf of his precious people.
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