Prayers from Prison

Prayers from Prison: American Pastor Held in Iran Releases Letter

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
WASHINGTON D.C. (ANS) -- The American pastor jailed in Iran for his Christian faith has managed to get a letter out to his global supporters, thanking them for their prayers while confirming the brutality of his conditions.

Saeed Abedini and his family.

According to a story by Lisa Daftari for Fox News, Saeed Abedini, the 33-year-old Idaho resident serving an eight-year prison term in Tehran's infamous Evin prison, passed the letter to family members who were permitted to visit him after several weeks of isolation. The letter was passed to Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, who is at their Boise-area home with their two children and unable to visit her husband for fear of being arrested herself.
"I heard that the persecution, my arrest and imprisonment has united churches from different denominations, from different cities and countries, that would never come together because of their differences," Fox News reported Abedini wrote.
He added, "You don't know how happy I was in the Lord and rejoiced knowing that in my chains the body of Christ has chained together and is brought to action and prayer."
Fox News said Abedini signed the letter, "With many thanks for your continued and faithful prayers, Servant of our Lord in chains for Jesus Christ, Saeed."
Abedini has been held at the brutal prison for 238 days, enduring long stints in solitary confinement, and, according to his supporters, beatings and torture at the hands of his jailers and fellow inmates.
For months, Fox News reported, he has been suffering from serious injuries, including internal bleeding from beatings with no proper medical attention, according to his family and attorneys.
More than a decade ago, Abedini began working as a Christian leader and community organizer developing Iran's underground home church communities for Christian converts who are forbidden from praying in public churches. He was arrested in 2009, but released after pledging to stop formally organizing house churches in Iran.
Fox News said when he returned to Iran last year to help build a state-run, secular orphanage, Iranian police pulled him off a bus and imprisoned him.
After spending months imprisoned without any notice of charges, Abedini was sentenced in January to eight years in prison, as his family and attorneys continue to press the State Department and other public and private groups to help win his release.
Fox News said the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which represents Abedini and his family in the U.S., last week met with State Department officials after noting the U.S. diplomats had not issued a single press release demanding Abedini's release.
"The fact is with each passing day, Pastor Saeed's health worsens - he's now suffering from internal bleeding," said ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow.
He added, "Time is of the essence."
Fox News said Sekulow noted that Iran in January freed an Iranian Christian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, under pressure from the international community - including the State Department and the White House.
"This year, the international community - including the European Union and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran - have spoken out clearly and directly for Pastor Saeed, but his own adopted nation has done less for him than the EU, less than Australia," Sekul ow said.
Fox News said Sekulow added, "Shouldn't the United States do at least as much for its own citizen as it did for that brave Iranian pastor?"

British Muslims Condemn Savage Attack and Slaughter

British Muslims Condemn Savage Attack and Slaughter
Christian and Muslim leaders issue joint statement following attack in Woolwich

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
LONDON (ANS) -- Leaders of Britain's 2.8 million Muslims reacted with horror and anger following Wednesday's (May 22) slaughter with knives and machetes of an off-duty British soldier in the streets outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in south London.

Slain soldier Lee Rigby

According to a story by Trevor Grundy for the Religion News Service (RNS), a statement from the Muslim Council of Britain condemned the slaughter of the soldier by two men - both believed to be Christian converts to Islam - as "a barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and which we condemn unreservedly."Abdullah al Andalusi, a spokesman for the Muslim Debate Initiative, which brings together Islamic scholars and researchers in the U.K., said, "These people claimed they killed the soldier in the name of protecting others from UK foreign policy. But if what they claim is true, they have acted no differently from the crimes they claim they wish to see stopped."
The slain soldier was Drummer Lee Rigby, 25, of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Every major British newspaper carried graphic photos of one of the suspects, identified as 28-year old Michael Adebolajo, waving a butcher's cleaver, his hands soaked in blood, following the attack.
RNS said media reports indicate his Nigerian-born parents moved him to London at age 15 to get him away from Islamic fundamentalists. A report in Thursday's London Evening Standard said that he had been raised as a Christian but had converted to Islam.
"They have done a cowardly, barbaric act," said Imam Ajmal Masroor of the Islamic Society of Britain. "They have insulted God and Islam. They are low vile scum. We, the British, will remain together resolute and strong."
RNS said Prime Minister David Cameron, who cut short a visit to Paris when he heard the news of the horrendous slaughter, said the nation remains "resolute" in the face of the attacks. However, he also tried to prevent a backlash of anti-Muslim violence that has already resulted in attacks on at least two mosques.
"We will never give in to terrorism in any of its forms," RNS reported he said. "This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life. It was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to this country. There is nothing in Islam that justified this dre adful act."
RNS said a prominent Muslim in the city of Leicester told the news service that that he and his community are "extremely worried" about right-wing reaction to the slaughter in London.
"This could fuel the anger of organizations like the English Defense League and the British National Party," he said, requesting anonymity because he feared for his safety.
He added, "The EDL last night had over 250 of its supporters wearing white balaclavas near the scene of the murder. They were shouting anti-Islamic slogans."
RNS said EDL leader Tommy Robinson told reporters, "They've cut off one of our army's (soldier's) heads in the streets of London. Our next generation are being taught in schools that Islam is a religion of peace. It never has been. What you saw today is Islam."
Joint Statement of Condemnation
Christian and Muslim leaders in Sheffield issued a joint statement following the attack.

A news release from the Diocese of Sheffield said, "As Christian and Muslim leaders in Sheffield, we condemn in the strongest possible terms the dreadful murder that has taken place in Woolwich.

"Eyewitnesses suggest that the murderers made Islamic slogans during their terrible deed and were thus motivated by their Islamic faith. This appalling action has no basis whatever in Islam and is to be condemned unreservedly."

The news release said the signatories' thoughts were with the soldier and his family. "Muslims have long served in our country's Armed Forces, proudly and with honour. This attack on a member of the Armed Forces is despicable and no cause can justify such a murder."

The statement continued, "We call on all our communities, regardless of their faith or ethnicity, to come together in solidarity to ensure that the forces of hatred do not prevail. And it is important that we support the police in their peacekeeping work at this time of tension."

The statement was signed by Rt. Rev. Dr. Steven Croft, Bishop of Sheffield, Rt. Rev. John Raw sthorne, Bishop of Hallam, the Rev. Vernon Marsh Chair of Methodist District, Mohammad Ali, Imam Mohammad Ismail, Imam Pro Sleem Akhtar, Imam M. Aslam Zahid, Imam Abu Saeed Kamali, Abdurrezak Bougara and Imam M. Ali.

Eagles Nest Ministries

 

EAGLES NEST MINISTRIES

Jawaban bagi Indonesia

Indonesia dikenal sebagai sebuah negara kepulauan yang memiliki keragaman suku, budaya dan bahasa daerah. Mayoritas penduduk Indonesia merupakan orang non Kristen dan merupakan negara Muslim terbesar di dunia. Masih ada sekitar 129 suku dari 23 rumpun suku di Indonesia yang sama sekali belum pernah mendengar berita Injil. Gereja Tuhan di Indonesia mungkin telah berupaya memberitakan Injil dalam masyarakatnya namun hasilnya belum optimal. Begitu banyak orang yang menolak berita sukacita tersebut karena menganggap berita tersebut sebagai “kepercayaan asing”. Sebab dibagikan dalam kemasan yang kebarat-baratan, yang mungkin tidak cocok dengan budaya setempat dari masyarakat yang hendak dijangkau. Ada banyak suku yang siap dan terbuka seandainya kita memberitakan berita keselamatan itu dengan menyajikannya sesuai kebiasaan, adat istiadat serta budaya mereka.

Eagles Nest Ministries berdiri 1 Juli 2007 di kota Bandung, salah satunya untuk menjawab tantangan ini. Pelayanan ini dirintis oleh suami istri Dave Broos dan Novie Durant yang merindukan umat Tuhan meresponi Amanat Agung Tuhan (Mat 28:19-20, Karena itu pergilah, jadikanlah semua bangsa muridKu dan baptislah mereka dalam nama Bapa dan Anak dan Roh Kudus, dan ajarlah mereka melakukan segala sesuatu yang telah Kuperintahkan kepadamu. Dan ketahuilah, Aku menyertai kamu senantiasa sampai kepada akhir zaman) untuk menjadi murid dan menjadikan segala bangsa murid Tuhan hingga kerajaan Tuhan diperluas, suatu umat yang bukan “sekedar beragama Kristen” tetapi mengetahui panggilan Tuhan atas hidupnya dan membawa dampak bagi komunitasnya. Dave Broos merupakan hamba Tuhan yang ditahbiskan oleh United Christian Faith Ministries dari Amerika Serikat, ditunjuk sebagai regional director dari Shadow of the Cross di Indonesia (sebuah pelayanan bagi sub kultur di perkotaan), pendoa syafaat Global Prayer Network – Johan Maasbach Wereld Zending dan utusan Injil dari Gereja Oikos Indonesia jemaat Surabaya.

Visi Eagles Nest Ministries adalah “MEMBERITAKAN KABAR BAIK, MEMURIDKAN & MENGUTUS SETIAP ANAK TUHAN UNTUK “MENJADI” GEREJA DIMANA PUN MEREKA BERADA”. Kerinduan kami adalah bekerja bersama dan memperlengkapi semua denominasi gereja, persekutuan, pelayanan Kristen lainnya dalam menyelesaikan amanat agung. Pelayanan ini berjejaring dengan pergerakan pemuridan dan penanaman gereja dunia Zoe Ministries, LK10 dan Outreach Fellowship International.

Missi kami adalah:

• MEMPERKENALKAN PENGHARAPAN & KASIH BAPA SURGAWI PADA DUNIA TERHILANG
• MEMULIHKAN & MEMURIDKAN MEREKA YANG BERKOMITMEN UNTUK BERTUMBUH DALAM KRISTUS
• MELATIH DAN MENGUTUS MURID KRISTUS SEBAGAI AGEN PERUBAHAN KE SELURUH DUNIA
• MELIHAT TERANG TUHAN BERSINAR DIMANA-MANA MENERANGI DUNIA SAMPAI TUHAN DATANG KEMBALI

Kami menyadari bahwa kami tidak bisa bekerja sendiri tetapi diperlukan kebersamaan dan kesadaran bersama akan kehendak Tuhan. Diperlukan sebuah kesehatian dan kesatuan (meski kita berbeda organisasi tapi satu dalam Tuhan Yesus) agar kita dapat berfungsi sebagai tubuh Kristus yang menjadi berkat dan dampak bagi mereka yang belum mengenal Tuhan.

Bagaimana Anda dapat menjadi rekan kami?

Keberhasilan pelayanan ini berarti juga keberhasilan umat Tuhan di Indonesia. Roma 10:13-15,”Sebab barangsiapa yang berseru kepada nama Tuhan, akan diselamatkan. Tetapi bagaimana mereka dapat berseru kepadaNya, jika mereka tidak percaya kepada Dia? Bagaimana mereka dapat percaya kepada Dia, jika mereka tidak mendengar tentang Dia? Bagaimana mereka mendengar tentang Dia jika tidak ada yang memberitakanNya? Dan bagaimana mereka dapat memberitakanNya, jika mereka tidak diutus? Seperti ada tertulis:”Betapa indahnya kedatangan mereka yang membawa kabar baik!” Kami mengajak Anda untuk dapat terlibat bersama dalam menjangkau jiwa terhilang melalui 3D

DIRI

Bagi mereka yang mau terlibat dalam mewartakan Injil, pemuridan, penanaman dan pengembangan gereja. Kami memberi diri untuk memperlengkapi baik seorang pribadi maupun gereja atau persekutuan yang hendak bermultiplikasi atau menanggapi amanat agung. Bukan jumlah orang tetapi kesediaan menanggapi panggilan Tuhan adalah tujuan kami. Kami memiliki bahan-bahan pemuridan yang dapat digunakan baik untuk pribadi, persekutuan maupun gereja yang hendak bertumbuh.

DOA

Anda dapat berdoa syafaat keluarga kami dalam memenuhi panggilan Tuhan dalam kehidupan kami. Kami juga menyediakan blog yang berisi berita dan pokok doa bagi suku-suku terabaikan baik di Indonesia maupun mancanegara.

DANA

Bagi mereka yang mau mendukung kami agar kami bisa pergi memperlengkapi umat Tuhan maupun gereja Tuhan di daerah terpencil atau tak mampu hingga kami dapat memperlengkapi dan mengutus lebih banyak lagi anak Tuhan dalam pemuridan dan perintisan gereja. Bagi yang terbeban dapat menghubungi kami lebih lanjut.

Saya percaya Anda dapat menanggapi salah satu atau bahkan ketiga hal tersebut sebagai anggota tubuh Kristus yang telah mengalami kasih karunia dan anugerah keselamatan. Anda dapat merenungkan dan mendoakan ke tiga hal tersebut demi menjangkau mereka yang berseru,”Menyeberanglah kemari dan tolonglah kami.” (Kis 16:9). Dapatkah Anda mendengar seruan mereka yang terhilang? Tuhan menunggu partisipasi dan pengabdian Anda kepadaNya.

Salam dan doa,

Dave Broos

Kontak kami dapat melalui inbox Facebook atau direct message Twitter, email: davebroos@yahoo.co.uk , telpon 022-92050322 atau SMS 087832744286.

American Pastor Saeed Abedini Thrown into Solitary Confinement in Iran

American Pastor Saeed Abedini Thrown into Solitary Confinement in Iran; Health Deteriorating

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
WASHINGTON D.C. (ANS) -- Already badly weakened by months of beatings and torture that have resulted in internal bleeding, American Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen, is facing perhaps his most difficult challenge since his imprisonment last fall.

Saeed Abedini

According to a story by Jordan Sekulow for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), family members in Iran confirm that Abedini, along with nine other prisoners, has been placed in solitary confinement.The ACLJ said new reports indicate that in addition to the severe internal bleeding he is experiencing, which has gone untreated, he is now facing issues with his kidneys.
The ACLJ said it has confirmed that awful conditions in Evin Prison led Abedini and a number of prisoners in Ward 350 to sign a letter expressing to prison officials their concern about the lack of medical care received, and the threats and harsh treatment facing family members who come to visit.
The prisoners expressed their dissatisfaction in a peaceful, silent protest in an outside courtyard at the prison.
The ACLJ said that apparently prompted prison officials to retaliate, selecting ten of the prisoners and placing them in solitary confinement. The ACLJ said its sources indicate that Abedini is likely to be beaten again, in pr ivate, away from other witnesses and prisoners.
At the same time, the ACLJ said, there's concern that his kidneys are no longer operating properly, the result of the internal injuries he has received over many months. Abedini has been told not to expect medical treatment or care for many months.
When family members showed up at prison to visit Abedini, the ACLJ said they were turned away and told he is no longer permitted to have visitors.
This latest development is causing enormous concern to Abedini's wife Naghmeh.
"Saeed has internal bleeding and now issues with his kidneys because of the beatings," the ACLJ reported Naghmeh said. "We believe that he is being beaten in solitary confinement. We have no way of finding out about his health. There will be no more visitations allowed and we will have no way of knowing how Saeed is doing."
She added, "Saeed had previously told his family that when he was in solitary confinement in the past, that was the hardest time in his life.. That every hour was lik e one year and that he was losing his memory and his health was deteriorating quickly. Please pray for his health and healing. Pray for his release. Pray that the Lord would use this for His glory and salvation of many."
The ACLJ said it spoke with a former Iranian political prisoner, who spent 15 years in Iranian prisons, including some time at Evin, about Abedini's solitary confinement.
He told the ACLJ, "Saeed was most likely on a list of prisoners the prison wants to break."
He explained that the prison officials keep a list of prisoners who have stood their ground refusing to recant their faith or confess to their crimes.
"Prison officers use any prison resistance, regardless of whether the prisoner was involved in the resistance, to target and break those prisoners on their list," the ACLJ reported he said. "They took Saeed to solitary confinement to put pressure on his belief and faith. This shows that Saeed has stood strong for his faith."
The ACLJ commented, "The latest developments un derscore the brutality of Iran's continued violation of human rights - imprisoning, torturing, and refusing medical care for Pastor Saeed merely because of his faith. This treatment not only violates international law, but is abhorrent."
The ACLJ said Abedini will be 33 on May 7.
The ACLJ said more than 42,000 people already have sent Abedini a birthday greeting - letters the ACLJ said it is personally delivering to Evin Prison.
The ACLJ commented, "Letters of prayer, support and encouragement. They are needed now more than ever. Please take a moment, if you haven't done so already, and send a letter to Pastor Saeed today."
For more information go to http://savesaeed.org

One Dead and Several Injured after Muslim Extremists attack Christian Village in South Punjab

One Dead and Several Injured after Muslim Extremists attack Christian Village in South Punjab

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- There has been a deadly attack in a Pakistani Christian village.
The Pakistan Christian Post (The Post) reported that according to sources speaking to the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), the assault occurred late evening on April 26 in the village Chack no. 31/10-R, District Khanewal near Multan.
The Post said Samuel Masih, a Christian, was badly injured after getting shot in the neck. A Muslim, Mohammad Yousaf, died on the scene.
The Post said another man and a few Christians were also seriously injured. Police transported them to District Hospital Katcha Kho for treatment.
According to Shamim Masih, ANS special correspondent in Pakistan, Lazarus Allah Rakha and Rana Adnan, representatives of World Vision in Progress, said shots began when Christians were attacked, and Samuel Masih was hurt.
Shamim Masih said that according to CLAAS spokesman Joseph Francis, the village then turned into a battlefield where armed groups were observed exchanging gunfire with each other.
Police responded quickly and filed reports against suspects. More th an 20 people from both groups were reportedly arrested.
The Post said law enforcement has been helpful and provided security. However, as Muslims have reportedly threatened to burn down Christians' homes, police have asked residents to vacate the village and taken families to a safer location.

Trying to Save Saeed

Trying to Save Saeed

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
BOISE, IDAHO (ANS) -- Saeed Abedini is in a battle for his life.

Saeed Abedini and his family

According to an article by Katy Moeller for the Idaho Statesman, the 32-year-old has languished in Iran's notorious Evin Prison for more than 200 days. He was convicted of "threatening the national security of Iran" for his involvement in Christian home churches from 2000 to 2005.His parents are allowed to visit him weekly, and they say he's enduring beatings and other torture. He has suffered internal bleeding and needs medical treatment, according to the American Center for Law and Justice.
Tiffany N. Barrans, international legal director for the nonprofit advocacy center, said it has petitioned to have the Red Cross come in as a third party to treat him.
"That has not been granted by the Iranian authorities," the Idaho Statesman reported Barrans said.
Saeed, a Boise resident with his wife and two children since 2006, was in Iran doing humanitarian work when he was imprisoned in September. In January, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The Idaho Statesman said Saeed has told authorities that if he is freed, he will leave Iran and never return, Barrans said. That didn't help his case.
As hopeless as the situation appears, Barrans said there's reason to be optimistic about his release. A decision on Saeed's appeal is pending.
"It gives the Iranian government an out, to save face," the Idaho Statesman reported Barrans said of the possibility that his sentence will be overturned. "They want to look like a country that is following the rule of law."
It's important to get Saeed released before Iran's elections in June.
"During and around those elections, the Iranian government is not going to want to release anyone who is seen as oppositional," the Idaho Statesman reported Barrans said.
Barrans said the key to Saeed's safe release is pressure from other countries - particularly those that have ties to Iran, including Qatar, Italy, Argentina and Brazil.
The Idaho Statesman said the American Center for Law and Justice is seeking support from those nations, and the group hopes the U.S. State D epartment is doing the same behind the scenes.
One positive new development, Barrans said, is that human rights groups within Iran haven taken up Saeed's cause.
"If there is enough stir in Iran - in their media and social media - it may cause unrest," Barrans said. "They may decide it's not worth the unrest during their elections, if this one man's case could disrupt that peace."
Keeping the Pressure On
The Idaho Statesman said more than half a million people have signed an online petition calling for Saeed's release.
Friends at his church in Boise are doing what they can to help.
"We have a constant flow of letters going to Iran, so they know he's not forgotten," said Rhett Allen, assistant director of children's ministry at Boise's Calvary Chapel.
Some of those letters have been written by children from the church, he said. The church is selling neon yellow "Save Saeed" T-shirts for $20 at its bookstore.
"We're exercising every resource that w e have," the Idaho Statesman reported Allen said. "We serve a good God, and we know he can do miracles."
Saeed's wife, Naghmeh, is doing a lot of public speaking, hoping to keep her husband's plight in the public eye.
The Idaho Statesman said a regular on Fox News, she tries to limit travel outside the state to just once a month so that she's not away from the couple's two children, ages 6 and 5.
Naghmeh said most of the money raised on her family's behalf has gone to others who need it more. She said she's sent it to a group of Christian families - associated with her husband - who fled from Iran to Turkey.
"I feel responsible for them," she said.
Raised in Idaho, Married in Iran
Naghmeh (Panahi) Abedini, 36, was born in Iran but grew up in the Treasure Valley.
The Idaho Statesman said her family fled during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. Today, her father runs a user-interface manufacturing company called PKG User Interface Solutions in Meridian.& nbsp;
Naghmeh graduated from Centennial High School in 1995, and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound. She had her sights set on medical school.
Through Calvary Chapel, the Idaho Statesman said, she did some missionary work in her 20s, including a trip to India, and felt God calling her to do the same in her native Iran.
Her parents were stunned at her decision.
"They felt I was going backward. 'We brought you here so you could flourish as a woman and be a doctor,'" she recalled.
The Idaho Statesman said she comes from a well-educated, high-achieving family. Her twin brother earned a doctorate in quantum physics from the University of Chicago.
Naghmeh went to Iran in late 2001 and met Saeed at a Christian gathering in 2002. They had a Christian wedding in Iran in 2004.
The Idaho Statesman said persecution of Christians intensified after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president, and they decided in 2005 that it was time to move to Idaho. Naghmeh was pregnant with th eir first child.
The couple live at Naghmeh's parents' house in West Boise. An ordained pastor, Saeed participated in Christian ministry in Iran via Skype.
In 2009, the Idaho Statesman said, Saeed and his family visited Iran. He was detained at the airport on their way home. He was interrogated every day for two months about his activities with the home churches.
The Idaho Statesman said Iranian officials warned him to stop his involvement with the home churches. However, they said he could do nonreligious humanitarian work and continue to travel back and forth between Iran and the U.S., Naghmeh said.
From 2009 to 2012, Naghmeh said, Saeed complied with the Iranian government's demands. Last summer, he was in Iran to build an orphanage on family land in the city of Rasht near the Caspian Sea.
"It was a big surprise when he was arrested," the Idaho statesman reported Naghmeh said.
Wife Warned Not to Go to Iran
Until he was imprisoned, Saeed was able to talk to his wife and children via Skype and telephone.
The Idaho Statesman reported Naghmeh said her first instinct was to go to Iran to be there for her husband. Officials warned her in-laws against that.
"They said, 'If she sets foot in this airport, she's going straight to prison,'" the Idaho Statesman reported Naghmeh said.
That's because she's a Muslim who converted to Christianity and was involved in Christian house churches in Iran with her husband years ago, she said.

Nephew Says Kidnapped Bishop Would Want Christians to Stay in Syria When Possible

Nephew Says Kidnapped Bishop Would Want Christians to Stay in Syria When Possible

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
SYRIA (ANS) -- The nephew of Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim, one of the two archbishops kidnapped in Syria on Monday, said he hopes Syrian Christians will not use the incident as a reason to flee the country.
According to a story by World Watch Monitor, Jamil Diarbakerli, who represents the Assyrian Democratic Organisation (which petitions for the rights of the Assyrian minority) said Bishop Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo, was kidnapped on Monday, alongside his counterpart from the Greek Orthodox Church, Bishop Boulos Yaziji.
They were traveling to the Turkish border hoping to secure the freedom of two priests kidnapped in February. They were Michel Kayyal, an Armenian Catholic and Maher Mahfous, a Greek Orthodox.
World Watch Monitor said the driver of the vehicle, Fathallah Kaboud, was later killed, although Diarbakerli said he learned from church sources in Syria that the shooting took place in another part of the city after Kaboud had driven to inform the bishop's office of the kidnaping.
Kaboud had been the personal chauffeur of Bishop Ibrahim for a number of years. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
World Watch Monitor said a fourth passenger escaped, but his identity remains unknown.
Reports on Tuesday claimed the bishops had been released, but these were later refuted by church officials.
World Watch Monitor said this latest kidnapping comes a week after Bishop Ibrahim told the BBC that there has been no targeting of Christians in Syria during the rebel uprising. 
However, on April 17, Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham told the press that more than 1,000 Syrian Christians have been killed and 20 churches destroyed.
World Watch Monitor said the bishop's nephew acknowledged that "there are parts of Syria where there is persecution of Christians." However, he said he believes his uncle's desire is for Syrian Christians to remain in the country, wherever possible.
"Things can change dramatically after the kidnapping of two important Christian leaders, but even though there is a war in Aleppo, the two bishops stayed and want their people to do the same - not to leave the country, not to empty Syria of Christians," he said.
World Watch Monitor reported Diarbakerli said the latest kidnapping has increased tensions between Muslims and Christians in Syria, but he is hopeful a resolution will calm things down.
"I don't want the perpetrators to win by using the archbishop as a weapon for religious and sectarian violence," he said. "I hope that all of Syria will cooperate to immediately find and release the bishops, because these kind of acts shall not serve any part of the conflict."

Amazon Indians suffer ill effects from pollution

By Mark Ellis

Shipibo woman in her home

The Shipibo people once lived in a pristine environment in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, with clean drinking water from fresh water streams, abundant fish in their rivers, and fertile soil for planting. But recently, mysterious ailments have been plaguing their people that may be related to environmental concerns.
“Oil pipelines in their territory have broken several times, so they have oil all around,” says Dr. Dale Kietzman, founder of Latin American Indian Ministries (LAIM). “There is also mercury in the rivers from gold mining.”

LAIM has been training pastors among the Shipibo, as well as responding to requests for practical assistance. Recently LAIM sent a professor to analyze their water and design a treatment system for the Shipibo.
“There is a sickness in their community, with young children dying and the villages suffering,” Dr. Kietzman says.
The pollution problem has intensified in the last decade. “Just in the last 4 years there have been seven oil spills in the indigenous territory of Canaan, from using old, rusted pipelines which destroy the water, land, health and vegetation of the area,” Dr. Kietzman notes. “The community now has to travel up to 3 hours to find non-contaminated sources of fish, and can no longer hunt or grow food on their now contaminated land.”
Dr. Kietzman blames an unhealthy alliance between business and government. “The government has allowed it because it’s profitable for the government,” he notes.  “The people of Canaan are forced to drink out of the oil-contaminated river. As a result, there has been a huge increase in deaths in the village, from unknown illnesses that local doctors cannot treat or diagnose.”
“Many oil companies operating in the Amazon have a long history of exploiting indigenous peoples and their lands, while making unfulfilled promises of schools for their children, jobs, and money,” he adds. “Instead, they leave social and environmental destruction in their wake, believing that no one is paying attention.”

Missionary Homes Lost in Latest Round of Nigerian Attacks

Missionary Homes Lost in Latest Round of Nigerian Attacks

April 19, 2013
Terrorists set fire Friday to the homes/mission bases of three missionary families working with Christian Aid-supported Missionary Crusaders Ministries in Nigeria. Ministry leader, Gabriel Barau, sent this urgent report:

“One of our fields was attacked. I do not have all of the details, but some of our buildings were set on fire, leaving our missionaries without accommodation. We have to move them now to safer villages and build some kind of shelter for them.”
“In as much as our missionaries remain committed to sharing Christ with the unreached, we need your prayers and support. The attack occurred at a new field, and we do not want our missionaries to get discouraged. They made a number of converts there whom they were discipling.”

A mission base burned by Christian persecutors, representative of recent terrorist attacks in Nigeria. (Christian Aid file photo)

Barau asks for resources to move the three affected missionary families, now homeless, to a safer location. Each simple home, which doubles as a place for cell group meetings and discipleship of new converts, costs $3,500. The need is especially urgent now as the rainy season is about to begin and will halt construction.
The missionary families have been temporarily moved to the ministry’s school of missions until shelters can be built for them.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the fires, the militant Islamist group Boko Haram is suspected of involvement. Isolated attacks against Christians and law enforcement have continued despite the declaration of a ceasefire in January.
Since 1983, Barau has trained and sent out missionaries to share Christ with the unreached of Nigeria. Today, 183 workers are planting churches and discipling converts. Many of their mission fields are located in the country’s Muslim northern region, where the majority of Boko Haram attacks have occurred.
One of the ministry’s ongoing needs has been a new headquarters office in a safe location. The current office, which the ministry has rented for 20 years, is located in a very dangerous region that has experienced a high frequency of Boko Haram attacks.
With help from Christian Aid, the new headquarters is now partly completed. An amount of $30,000 will provide roofing, plumbing, and electrical work. The ministry plans to move into this office as soon as the roofing is completed.
Prayer requests:

• For protection for believers in Nigeria as they courageously share their faith in the midst of opposition and hostility
• For wisdom for Gabriel Barau as he leads the work of Missionary Crusaders Ministries
• That terrorized Nigerians will experience a return to peace in their homeland

Use the form below to support indigenous ministries in Nigeria. Or call us at 434-977-5650 to contribute by phone. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 550MCM. Thank you!

Help rebuild missionary homes/mission bases	Once Monthly Please enter an amount Please enter an amount ($10 or more!)
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500 Assyrians from Syria Flee to Turkey

500 Assyrians from Syria Flee to Turkey in Last Three Days

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

Syrians help an injured comrade as they flee from Syria after clashes between Syrian rebels and government soldiers in Rasulayn region, a few hundred meters from Turkey's Ceylanpinar (Photo: AAP)

TUR ABDIN, TURKEY (ANS) -- According to the Assyrian International News Agency (www.aina.org) some 500 Assyrians from Syria have crossed the border into Turkey in the past three days, seeking refuge from the war in Syria.
Assyrian church officials in Tur Abdin, Turkey, say that the refugees are now in Gazentap. The Assyrian churches and monasteries in Tur Abdin and its surroundings are at capacity. Church officials are now considering building a tent city to house the refugees.
"Assyrians and other Christians in Syria have been disproportionately affected by the war, and have been targeted by the Muslims rebels," said the AINA story. "The Muslim Jihadists have kidnapped Assyrians for ransom, attacked places of worship and created a climate of fear, forcing many Assyrians to abandon their homes and villages and seek safety in Turkey.

Suad Malki and her three sons (Photo: Jubilee Campaign)

The case of Suad Malki, they are reporting, is a "typical example." In July of 2011 her husband, Dr. Staefo Malki, was sitting in his car, in Hassaka, when two Muslims approached and told him to remove the Holy Cross from his car. He refused. The Muslims shot him. Dr. Malki died later in the hospital. But the trouble for the Malki family was not over. The Muslims telephoned his grief stricken wife and told her that they would kill her three sons if they did not leave. Swedish journalist Nuri Kino, is reporting: "Even though Christians make up more than 10 percent of Syria's population, this amount is not reflected in the UNCHR registered refugees numbers who fled to Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
"The mostly ignored tragedy of the Christians in Iraq has convinced Christians of Syria that international authorities will not step up to protect them. While their plight is well known to the western media outlets they still are forgotten by international aid organizations. They are fleeing massively."
Nuri Kino's comprehensive 40-page report is available at www.betweenthebarbedwire.com

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Dan Wooding, 72, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 49 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States and around the world. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. Dan recently received two top media awards -- the "Passion for the Persecuted" award from Open Doors US, and as one of the top "Newsmakers of 2011" from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 45 books, the latest of which is "Caped Crusader: Rick Wakeman in the 1970s." To order a copy, go to: Caped Crusader - Amazon

ATTACK ON INDIAN REVIVAL MEETING

Attack on Indian Revival Meeting Sends Christians underground
Hindutva elements beat women and children; pastor's location unknown

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
NEW DELHI, INDIA (ANS) -- As police looked on, militants attacked a Christian church in central India earlier this month, causing severe injuries to some and sending the pastor into hiding, according to witnesses.
According to a story by World Watch Monitor, the assault took place during the second day of a Feb. 7-9 revival meeting at India Christian Assembly of God Church in the city of Rajnandgaon. That's about 72 kilometers west of Raipur, the capital of the mostly rural, and overwhelmingly Hindu, state of Chhattisgarh.
World Watch Monitor said the revival meeting included a graduation ceremony of 14 students who attended a short Bible training program. About 300 Christians had gathered to witness the ceremony and attend the revival meeting. Attendees came from the neighboring states of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh.
"Everything went well on the first day of the meeting until the afternoon of the second day," a witness told World Watch Monitor. The witness asked not to be named in order to avoid possible retribution from the attackers.
World Watch Monitor said at about 3 p.m., a group of more than 30 young men disrupted the meeting. They began to interrogate the pastor, Thomas Abraham, and other church leaders, who protested the interruption.
The witness said the intruders were from several Hindu nationalist groups, including Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, and Dharma Sena.
"They started to manhandle and beat people, tear Bibles, abused the God of Christians and strode over children," World Watch Monitor reported the witness said. More attackers joined in, their faces covered, and armed with sticks and iron rods. Men, women and children were beaten. Church property and vehicles were damaged.
"There was chaos and Christians started to flee for their lives in whichever direction they could," the witness said.
Police were called, but they did not intervene and "played the role of mere spectators," the witness told World Watch Monitor.
Attacks continued until 6 p.m., the witness said. Some Christians, from Maharashtra and Orissa, suffered injuries behind the ear and to the eye from being struck with iron rods. They were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment, though later they left the hospital without informing the authorities.
Christian leaders from Rajnandgaon told World Watch Monitor they approached the superintendent of police, who came to the scene of the attack and began an investigation. He was stymied, however, because Abraham, the pastor, had disappeared. Police are watching the church building and are searching for Abraham.
World Watch Monitor said India is 31 on the 2013 World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries where being a Christian is most difficult.
Though Christians live openly without challenge in many parts of huge and diverse India, nationalistic Hindutva movements in some regions have attacked Christian communities with regularity, according to Open Doors International, which publishes the list. Open Doors is a worldwide ministry to persecuted Christians.

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53 Ethiopian Christian get arrests in Saudi Arabia at private worship service

Saudi Arabia Arrests 53 Ethiopian Christians at Private Worship Service

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
SAUDI ARABIA (ANS) -- Saudi authorities on Feb. 8 arrested 53 Ethiopian Christians, mostly women, who were attending a worship service in the private, rented home of an Ethiopian believer in Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
That's according to a news release from the World Evangelical Alliance's Religious Liberty Commission (WEA-RLC) which said it learned this from sources inside the Arab kingdom.

The Christians - 46 women and six men including three church leaders - were arrested at about 10 a.m. last Friday, a close relative of one of those arrested told WEA-RLC.
The three church leaders - two of them women - were produced in an Islamic court in Dammam the same day when authorities alleged they were converting Muslims to Christianity, the source added.

WEA-RLC said authorities are likely to release two of the Ethiopian Christians who have residential permits on Monday, and the others are expected to be deported.

Dammam, a center for petroleum and natural gas and all commerce in the eastern parts of the kingdom, is a large metropolitan, industrial area and a major seaport.
However, WEA-RLC said, religious freedom is not granted to the numerous visitors or expats in the region, like elsewhere in the nation. A Saudi girl who embraced Christianity and fled Dammam in Sept. 2012 was granted asylum in Sweden last month, according to Al-Yaum newspaper.

WEA-RLC said in Dec. 2011, Saudi authorities arrested 35 Ethiopian Christians, 29 of them women, for "illicit mingling," after police arrested them when they raided a private prayer gathering in Jeddah. Of those arrested 29 were women, who were subjected to arbitrary body cavity searches in custody, according to Human Rights Watch.

"We call on Saudi authorities to treat all those arrested with dignity, and release them immediately as there is apparently no evidence for any offense against them," Godfrey Yogarajah, WEA-RLC executive director, said in the news release.
He added, "Arrest of believers for peacefully gathering for worship goes against the spirit of Saudi Arabia's promotion of inter-religious dialogue in international (forums)."

More than 10 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the Saudi government has failed to implement a number of promised reforms related to promoting freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, noted the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in its 2012 annual report.

"The Saudi government persists in banning all forms of public religious expression other than that of the government's own interpretation of one school of Sunni Islam; prohibits churches, synagogues, temples, and other non-Muslim places of worship; uses in its schools and posts online state textbooks that continue to espouse intolerance and incite violence; and periodically interferes with private religious practice," WEA-RLC stated the report said.
The Religious Liberty Commission monitors he religious liberty situation in more than 100 nations, defending persecuted Christians, informs the global church, challenges the Church to pray (www.idop.org) and gives assistance to the suffering.

For more go to www.worldevangelicals.org/commissions/rlc.

Copts Protest Church Attack in Egypt

Copts Protest Church Attack in Egypt; Church Attacked Again

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
EGYPT (ANS) -- Hundreds of Copts rallied on Sunday evening Feb. 17 against the torching of St. Georges church in Sarsena on Feb. 15, as well as the escalation of destruction of churches by Muslims.

Coptic rally

According to a story by Mary Abdelmassih for the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), several Coptic rights groups organized a march from Shubra, a densely populated area in Cairo, to the High Court building in downtown Cairo, to "demand justice" as the organizers said. Demonstrators demanded the Sarsena church be rebuilt and the perpetrators be prosecuted, in addition to the assailants of previous attacks on the churches during the last two years since the ousting of Mubarak.
AINA said they also demanded an end to the customary "reconciliation" meetings forced on Copts by the authorities, in which Copts lose all their rights.
"We are going down to the streets for the church torched in Fayoum," said Yvonne Mosad, of the Maspero Coptic Youth Union, "and against the customary reconciliation meetings held every time something takes place against the Copts. We want the application of the law."
AINA said the Coptic demonstrators included a large number of children accompanying their parents. A large number of liberal Muslims joined the demonstration.
The marchers chanted "Maspero, Maspero," calling for the completion of their march to the State radio and TV building in Maspero, the site of the massacre that killed 24 Copts and injured over 300.
AINA said according to officials, the attack on St. George's Church was triggered by a Muslim family living next to the church, who complained about the sound coming from the church during mass on Fridays and Sundays. The Muslim family has been living next to the church for 15 years and had not complained previously.
During the attack on Friday, AINA said, Muslims voiced the real issue, which was the church is "an unlawful neighbor to the Muslims who live adjacent to it and must therefore be moved."
The Tamiya security chief said in an interview on Al-Hayat independent Egyptian channel that the torching was not of a church but a small room annexed to the Coptic community center. and the church wanted to build it without a license. He also said that what was torched was a single wooden chair. But the church said it wasn't a community center, but a real church.

AINA said authorities placed a security guard at the gate of the church. The guard prevented the media from filming the church and prevented reporters and local parishioners from entering the church.
AINA said a "reconciliation" meeting was held on Saturday evening, which many found to be unfair and humiliating, like all such previous meetings forced by authorities.
AINA said the meeting was attended by seven Copts without the presence of the clergy, four of whom were chosen by the Muslims, the Muslim neighbor family that complained, four Muslim arbitrators and the heads of the security and Chief of Detectives in Tamiya.
AINA said the church was attacked once again by Muslims while the meeting was in progress. Molotov cocktails and stones were thrown at the church while Muslims shouted, "We do not want the church."
According to AINA, some Muslims climbed up the church to completely destroy the remains of the wooden dome.
One of the Coptic delegation to the "reconciliation" meeting, Gameel Abraham, left in protest of the unfairness of the terms of "reconciliation" set for the Copts.
AINA said he commented that the losses suffered by the church were destruction in parts of the dome and the windows, as well as seats which were torched, icons, images and saints' relics.
At the meeting the neighboring Muslim family wanted to classify the church as a community center, but this was rejected by the Copts. Police records classify the building as a church.
AINA said among the conditions in the agreement imposed on the church, which the Coptic delegation was forced to sign, is that it is not allowed to restore the church to its original height before the attack. It will have to stay the height after the attack, not exceeding 3 meters.
The church was also forced to agree to build a 17 meter long, 30 centimeter thick wall from inside the church area, filled with soundproof material. In addition, AINA said, it has to build another wall, 5 centimeters thick, between the church and the Muslim neighbor, (also filled with soundproof material), to mask the sound of hymns emanating from the church.
AINA said it was also decided that the roof of the church be covered with soundproof material as well as the tiling of the roof of the Muslim neighbor, at the expense of the church, to further diminish the "noise" coming out of church during its semi-weekly mass.
The church was forced to agree not to use the spare area outside to increase the size of the church or to use it as a kindergarten, but to use it as a store room.
AINA said there was nothing said about who will be responsible for paying for the losses suffered by the church, and whether the dome and the Holy Cross on top of the dome that were destroyed by the Muslims will be replaced.
No one responsible for the church assault has been arrested.

God At work through all difficulties (Open Doors)

God At Work Through All Difficulties Pastor Yosef was stunned … his 22-year old church did not have the proper building permit, and was now facing closure by the government! Church development was going well; in fact, it exceeded his expectations. Over the past five years, Pastor Yosef eagerly watched as his congregation grew to over sixty people. This was especially surprising since his church was located in a Muslim majority neighborhood!  Although members of the community were not interested in Christianity, they were tolerant of a Christian church. The neighborhood was peaceful, and Pastor Yosef felt very optimistic about the future. In the middle of this joy, trouble arose. On Feb. 12, 2012, Pastor Yosef received a memo from the Forum Komunikasi Umat Beragama (FKUB), requesting that he attend their next meeting. In spite of its stated purpose to foster understanding and tolerance between religious groups, the FKUB – or Inter-religious Harmony Forum, an organization comprised of representatives from all religions in Indonesia - had a Muslim majority. Pastor Yosef knew that they would not be impartial.  At the meeting, the FKUB presented Pastor Yosef with a petition stating that the people in his community wanted the church to move away. The leaders also stated that the church did not have a proper building permit. Pastor Yosef’s stomach knotted. This was impossible to believe! The church had been established 22 years ago, well before the law was created which made church permits mandatory. A few days later, Yosef interviewed several villagers. “I went around and asked their opinion about our church’s location. I found out only five Muslim neighbors petitioned to close our church!” Pastor Yosef immediately began working to obtain the correct building permit. One With Them In the face of uncommon circumstances, where only five people could create so much trouble for many others, Pastor Yosef remained steadfast. Today, despite unusual circumstances in your life, remain One With Them in your prayers and love for believers in East Java. Please pray for all persecuted believers as they go through their daily lives, fully relying on God’s provision. 2013.02.20

"See, I have set before you an open door that no one can shut.” (Revelations 3:8 )

Algeria Upholds Conviction of Convert from Islam

Algeria Upholds Conviction of Convert from Islam
Christian's one-year prison term for alleged proselytizing revoked, but fine doubled

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA (ANS) -- An Algerian judge under pressure from Islamists to uphold a Christian's conviction for alleged proselytizing rescinded his one-year prison term today but doubled his fine, an attorney said.
Algeria is a country in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast.

According to a story by Morning Star News, Mohamed Ibaouene, 36, was shocked to learn on Dec. 11 that he had been convicted in absentia on July 4, 2012 by a court in Tigzirt, sentenced to one year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (US$635) on a charge of pressuring a Muslim to convert.
His attorney, Mohamed Benbelkacem, told Morning Star News that the appeals judge in Tindouf, in raising Ibaouene's fine to 100,000 dinars, must have realized there was no basis for the charge but was under pressure from Islamists to impose a sentence.

"The judge must have undergone some pressure to arrive at this sentence - that is the only explanation," Benbelkacem said.
He added, "That is why he had to choose to split off one of the two punishments; he could not decide for the punishment sought by the prosecutor, namely two years in prison followed by a 100,000-dinar fine, because it was unfair and unfounded. Unfortunately, we are faced with an act of injustice, and we intend to appeal."

Morning Star News said Ibaouene was convicted of "inciting a Muslim with pressure to change his religion" under Algeria's controversial Law 06/03, which places restrictions on the religious practice of non-Muslims.
The decision on the appeal of his sentence was to be announced on Feb. 6, but the judge delayed the verdict until today without explanation.

Morning Star News said Ibaouene denies the charge, saying the a machine operator at the company where he worked as a manager, identified only as Abdelkrim M., was the one pressuring him to change his religion.
The 27-year-old machine operator, known to be an Islamic extremist, leveled the accusation only after Ibaouene, a convert from Islam, refused to renounce Christ, Ibaouene said.

According to Morning Star News, Ibaouene's attorney said the case provided a long-sought sentencing of a Christian under Law 03/06, with the case resolved quickly compared with delays in other such cases.
"He could not decide for acquittal because of the pressure, so it must be that the Algerian justice system finally found a scapegoat to finally be able to implement the effects of Law 03/06," Benbelkacem said.
Morning Star News said he added, "I am not satisfied with the verdict, and I am even disappointed and upset, because in this case there is no evidence to support the accusation against my client."

The judge's verdict was short. "The accused, Mohamed Ibaouene, is condemned to pay a fine of 100,000 dinars," thereby revoking the one-year prison sentence.

The president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA), Mustapha Krim, told Morning Star News the ruling was an affront to freedom.

"Certainly we will appeal the ruling," Krim said. "Moreover, we will meet soon in the EPA to discuss follow-up to this case. I must say that as long as Law 03/06 exists, there will always be those who will falsely accuse us as Christians."
Morning Star News said Ibaouene, who was never contacted by police or other authorities prior to his conviction, said Abdelkrim M. had approached him at his office for the sole purpose of asking him if he was a Christian and trying to persuade him to convert back to Islam.

When Ibaouene refused to renounce Christ, Abdelkrim M. then asked him if he believed in Islam. Morning Star News said in spite of what Ibaouene had already told him, was astonished when the Christian told him he did not believe in it at all, but rather in God and Christ, Ibaouene says.

Abdelkrim M. then filed a complaint with the National Gendarmerie in Tindouf, accusing Ibaouene of pressuring him to renounce Islam, according to a copy of the judgment obtained by Morning Star News.

Authorities did not serve the judgment to Ibaouene sooner presumably because he had left Tindouf after marrying in June 2012 and they were not aware of his whereabouts, and because of slow administrative processes.
Morning Star News said Ibaouene is part of an undisclosed church in Tizi Ouzou, capital of Tizi Ouzou Province on Algeria's northern central coast.

Morning Star News said Law 03/2006, commonly known as Law 06/03, mandates a prison term of two to five years and a fine of 500,000 to 1 million dinars for anyone who "incites, constrains, or utilizes means of seduction tending to convert a Muslim to another religion, or using for this purpose the institutions of education, health, social, cultural, or educational institutions, or other establishment, or financial advantage; or (2) makes, stores or distributes printed documents or films or other audiovisual medium or means intended to undermine the faith of a Muslim."

Algeria's population of 35.4 million people is more than 97 percent Muslim and .28 percent Christian, according to Operation World.

Morning Star News said the Algerian constitution makes Islam the state religion and requires the president to be Muslim. Algerian law also prohibits non-Muslims from gathering to pray except in areas approved by the state.

For more information go to http://morningstarnews.org