Iran Claims Pastor Nadarkhani Won't Be Executed

Iran Claims Pastor Nadarkhani Won't Be Executed

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

NEW YORK (ANS) -- An Iranian official has refuted claims of plans to execute imprisoned pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned for almost three years on accusations of apostasy, a crime where one disaffiliates themselves from a religion, according to Huffington post www.huffingtonpost.com .

The website says the refutation came after human rights investigator Ahmed Shaheed delivered a recent report to the United Nations.

The UN report, in addition to citing Iran's "striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law" and the country's "maltreatment of prisoners, dissidents, minorities and women," also called for the release of Nadarkhani, according to FOX News.

The Iranian refutation called Shaheed's 36-page report, which first circulated last week, "false," "fabricated," "biased" and manipulated by "certain Western countries and their cronies on the council," according to The New York Times.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani
(Photo via Youcef Nadarkhani Facebook page).
The Huffington Post says that Iran's insistence that Nadarkhani will not be executed is "only the latest development in an ongoing legal nightmare, during which a litany of additional accusations, including rape and extortion, have been made against the Christian pastor by the Iranian government."

In September of last year, the Iranian Supreme Court upheld Nadarkhani's initial conviction of apostasy after he allegedly refused to recant his Christian faith, the Huffington Post website stated.

The Huffington Post added that, in February, the American Center for Law and Justice received reports that Nadarkhani had been sentenced to death for the 2010 charges -- a ruling quickly condemned by the White House in a statement.

"This action is yet another shocking breach of Iran's international obligations, its own constitution, and stated religious values," the White House statement read. "The United States stands in solidarity with Pastor Nadarkhani, his family, and all those who seek to practice their religion without fear of persecution -- a fundamental and universal human right."

The Huffington Post says that Leonard Leo, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told the Religion News Service last year that Iran's court proceedings can't be trusted.

"The court continues to demand that he recant his faith or otherwise be executed," Leo told RNS. "The most recent court proceedings are not only a sham, but are contrary to Iranian law and international human rights standards."

The Huffington Post reports that deespite the reported execution ruling last fall, Iranian envoy Mohammad Javad Larijani told the Human Rights Council that such punishment is not permitted in Iran.

"In the last 33 years after [the Islamic] revolution, no single person has been put to death or executed or pursued for changing his religion from Islam," Larijani told the council, according to FOX News. "Hundreds of people are changing from other religions to Islam. Why we should be so sensitive about a few people to change their religion from Islam?"

In a press release, dated March 7, which has been posted to the ALCJ website www.alcj.org , the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran at Brasilia "denies all of the News published about the death sentence of Mr. Youcef Nadarkhani, and States that the Power of the Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran delivered no definitive sentence relative to this individual."

The release states: "Article 13 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes followers of major Heavenly religions, including Christians, as religious minorities; accepting and assuring their rights as religious citizens. According to this Article, they are free to hold services and religious teachings and to practice civil rights based in their background.

"Also these minorities, like the other Muslim organizations inside the Constitution, have representatives in the Parliament. It also says that a peaceful living exists in the Islamic Republic of Iran between the followers of divine religions, with a sincere fatherly spirit that is established between the State and different aspects. Also, we made sure of an independent power of the Court, reminding that the referred individual was arrested based upon laws and regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He has a lawyer who is protecting all of his legal rights, including contact with his family. Department the Press Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The release was made available to ACLJ by Department of the Press, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Islamists in Egypt Use Rumors to Attack Christians

Islamists in Egypt Use Rumors to Attack Christians
Salafis attack in one village, while officials in another overturn evictions

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

EGYPT (ANS) -- Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that tensions remain high in an Egyptian village where as many as 5,000 mostly Salafi Muslims went on a rampage over a false rumor that a church was holding a girl against her will in order to convert her back to Christianity.

Dismissing media reports of 20,000 rioting Muslims, sources told Compass that between 2,000 and 5,000 hardline Muslims, most of them from the Salafi movement, last month harassed Christian villagers in in the Nile Delta, attacked a church building to "save" the girl, damaged a priest's house and then destroyed his car.

CDN went on to say that the girl was not in the church building. She reportedly said her father, a Coptic convert to Islam, treated her poorly and that she had fled of her own accord, and that after hearing reports of the attacks, she contacted police.

"The Salafis have used such rumors to incite other attacks. In January, Salafists terrorized Christians of a village in northern Egypt after an unsubstantiated rumor spread about a video recording of an affair between a Coptic man and a Muslim woman," said the CDN story.

"The Muslims in Sharbat forced numerous Christians to abandon their property in informal but binding 'reconciliation councils,' though a parliamentary commission overturned their rulings last month, and most of the evicted Christian families have returned home."

For more information, please go to: www.compassdirect.org

Egyptian Christian Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for 'Insulting the Prophet'

Egyptian Christian Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for 'Insulting the Prophet'

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

ASSUIT, EGYPT (ANS) -- In the latest in a series of "defamation of religion" cases, an appeal has been filed on behalf of a Egyptian Christian who was sentenced to six years in prison for "insulting the Prophet," according to Egyptian journalist Mary Abdelmassih, writing for AINA - the Assyrian International New Agency www.aina.org

In its report, AINA says legal observers saw many flaws in the ruling of the judge of the Abanoub misdemeanor court, in Assiut province, while others accused him of appeasing a mob of 2500 Muslims who congregated outside the court and demanded the death penalty for the defendant, Makram Diab.

AINA says that eyewitnesses reported that some of Muslims carried knives and wanted to break into the court and kill Diab, but were blocked by the police.

According to AINA, Diab's Muslim defense lawyer, Ahmad Sayed Gabali, said that during his 18 years as lawyer, he has never experienced what he went through in this case.

"Over 80 Islamist lawyers representing civil rights claimants filled the court, locked the door of the court from the inside, not allowing the judge out, and prevented me as the defense lawyer from going inside the court and defending my client," Gabali said.

A discussion on February 9 between the Makram Diab, who is a school secretary, and a Salafi school teacher became heated but then simply ended, the AINA report says.

AINA states that thirteen days later, on February 23, another teacher named Abdel-Hamid, who was not present during the quarrel or even at school on that day, filed a complaint with the police, signed by another 11 teachers, accusing Makram Diab of insulting Islam's prophet.

"This was a normal quarrel between him and the Muslim teacher," said Gabali, "which could happen anywhere. It was provoked by the teacher, who has been transferred several times from different schools after being reprimanded for causing sedition, and was used by the Salafis for their benefit. This is a group of teachers who used Diab as a scapegoat."

AINA reports that Gabali said that when he approached the court house on the day of the trial, there was a huge mob of Muslims, in addition to high school teachers and students holding banners and chanting Islamic slogans.

"We were about 14 to 15 people, including the 12 policemen who were there to secure the court, facing a crowd of over 2500 people," said Gabali. He waited outside in his car, to be called in by the police warden when it was secure for him to go inside, but this never happened.

"The Muslims' plan was to get the police engaged with me, so that they could attack my client inside the court," Gabali said.

The AINA report goes on to say that the media gave minimal coverage to the case, and no account of the accusation was published, leaving it to the imagination of the readers and viewers.

AINA says that stories differ as to what the insults to prophet Mohammad were.

According to the official court version, Makram Diab allegedly said that Mohammad sexually harassed his disciples.

"This cannot be true at all," said attorney Gabali, who has known Makram personally all his life. "He is simply not capable of it. He is a simple person, who has nothing to do with religion or politics."

AINA reports that Diab's sister Hadia said that her brother simply asked the Muslim teacher whether it was true that Mohammad married 40 wives and the teacher said he would ask and let him know the answer. Michael, Makrab's son, said it was a quarrel. "The Muslim insulted the Christian religion and my father simply answered back. Was my father supposed to be insulted and keep quiet?"

AINA explained that Defamation of Religion is considered a misdemeanor under Egyptian law, punishable by a prison sentence of one month to three years. The Abanoub court is a partial court and the judge is not allowed to pass a prison sentence exceeding three years.

AINA stated that defense lawyer Gabali believes that the Abanoub judge had to pass this flawed ruling as he found himself in the midst of Muslim groups inside and outside the court.

"I saw a group of lawyers entering court weeping, literally weeping, to plead with the judge to give the maximum sentence," Gabali added. He said that he tried to solve the matter amicably before it went to court, but the Muslims refused and the reconciliation meeting was cancelled.

AINA say that Gabali called on the army to secure the court in the appeal session on March 15 in Assuit, "otherwise, we will have a repetition of the Abanoub trial, with mobs everywhere trying to influence the judge morally and religiously."

Gabali called on Field Marshal Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed forces to ensure that the trial in Assuit be fully secured by the army outside and inside the court, "otherwise, I cannot guarantee the safety of my client."

Meanwhile, Makram Diab is kept now in the high security section of the Assuit prison.

Libyan Islamists Destroy 150 British Graves From WWII, Tear Down Crosses One Year After Begging For Their Help.

Libyan Islamists Destroy 150 British Graves From WWII, Tear Down Crosses One Year After Begging For Their Help.
How and why did they do it?

By Lisa Gibson
Special to ASSIST News Service

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (ANS) -- I was saddened when I heard the news about the Islamists in Libya who destroyed the graves of British soldiers at a World War II cemetery in Libya. In my culture it is wrong to desecrate a grave. I would imagine it is wrong in Islam as well, which is why they did it. But even more scandalous was the desecration of the cross that hung above the graves of the soldiers who died there. As Christians, that speaks a very clear and hate filled message.

When I saw the copy of the self- promotional video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=E49R8zMJb5s&feature=youtu.be) created by the vandals that was so brazenly aired on YouTube, I was caught off guard. The vandals wore no masks to cover their faces while committing the crime. Instead, they openly and unabashedly engaged in the crime and destruction while all along chanting "Allahu Akbar", God is great.
Tearing down a cross in the cemetery
The reason for the act was simple, revenge. It was in response to the US burning of the Koran in Afghanistan. Perhaps the Libyan's hadn't gotten the whole story of the secret spy codes in Koran's that were burned, or even heard that the US and even President Obama himself apologized for burning their holy books. But either way, I am confident God wasn't behind either act of destruction so rather than chanting "God is great" while committing the crime, let's keep his name out of it.

What saddened me most about this act, is that the actions don't reflect the sentiment of the majority of Libyans. In fact, many of the progressive leaders I have worked with in Libya in recent months also have concern about the growing fundamentalist influence and the propaganda that is being spread among the Libyan people, especially as the June elections approach.

Lisa teaching conflict resolution
in Libya in January
I was just in Libya in January. We held a two-week leadership training course for 100 medical, business and governmental leaders in Benghazi in ethics, leadership, conflict resolution, and administration. It was the first of many trainings to come, in civil society and capacity building. It was all very new information and designed to help transform wrong patterns of thought that were indoctrinated into the minds of the people during 42 years of tyranny. The leaders were challenged, but greatly appreciated the material and were given concrete skills to apply immediately in their workplaces and lives.

In my experience, the majority of Libyans are peace-loving people who want change and prosperity. They aren't looking for another civil war, or to continue fighting. But just like you have the Taliban in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda in Iraq, you have militant leaders in Libya who are trying to seize power for their own agenda and purposes. They use hate rhetoric and half-truths to stir up discontent among the poor people in the country who are still struggling and not seeing the life altering changes that they believed the revolution would bring. Change doesn't happen overnight. This breads discontent. Discontent can lead to hate and abuse. We have seen this play out time and again through history.

I haven't given up on Libya. Despite the lopsided articles I read in the media, I don't believe it is imploding or bound for ultimate demise. I have a great deal of hope for the future of Libya. They are a people dearly loved by God, who have gone through 42 years of abuse by a brutal regime and they need to learn there is a better way of doing things. They need the western world to go and help them develop, transform and become peaceful and prosperous.

Even though the vengeful acts of destruction make me angry. I refuse to fight with the enemy's weapons. I want to see the vandals brought to justice, so it creates deterrence of future bad behavior. But more than that, I want to see forgiveness and reconciliation reign. Matthew 5:9 says "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." The reason is simple. The only way to effectively fight hate, is through love!

Lao pastor jailed nearly 13 years for Christian activities set free

Lao pastor jailed nearly 13 years for Christian activities set free

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LAOS (ANS) -- A pastor has been released from prison in Laos after being locked up for nearly 13 years because of his Christian activities.

Barnabas Fund www.barnabasfund.org reports that Bounchan Kanthavong was set free on February 2, having been arrested in June 1999 and then sentenced to twelve years in jail for treason and sedition.

Barnabas Fund says Bounchan's only "crimes" appear to have been receiving Bible training and sharing his faith with people who came into his clothing shop. Bounchan's witness led to around 70 people accepting Christ.

Bounchan had been introduced to Christianity in January 1997 when he spent the night with a Christian family while away on business. When he returned to his home in Vanghai village, Udomsai province, Bounchan began to spread his new faith. People came to his shop from other villages, keen to hear and embrace the Gospel.

According to Barnabas Fund, the Lao authorities repeatedly warned him to stop believing, practicing and spreading the Christian faith and ordered him to cease all worship activities at the shop.

In a media update, Barnabas Fund says: "They were concerned about people leaving the traditional Lao religion (spirit worship) and embracing what they consider a foreign religion, thus becoming loyal to a power other than the Lao authorities. Bounchan's actions were thus perceived as a threat to national security and interpreted as treason and sedition."

Bounchan is married with five children. Following his detention, his wife Sengkham took over the leadership of their Christian community, which has grown to more than 3,000 believers today.

Last April, the authorities told Bounchan that they were willing to release him if he renounced Christ and separated from Sengkham.

Barnabas Fund added: "But he clearly did not as his detention was prolonged. Bounchan's health, particularly his eyes, suffered during his time in jail, and his family struggled without his leadership and provision."

Nigeria: Boko Haram plot to ‘end the Christian presence‘

Nigeria: Boko Haram plot to ‘end the Christian presence‘
-- plus an update on the situation in Sudan

By Elizabeth Kendal
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 149
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 149 | Wed 07 Mar 2012

NIGERIA: BOKO HARAM PLOT TO 'END THE CHRISTIAN PRESENCE'

Evidence indicates that the Nigerian al-Qaeda-linked terror group Boko Haram has transformed numerous suburban homes across the north of Nigeria into bomb-making factories. Several militants have been killed recently in Maiduguri, Damaturu and Kaduna when bombs exploded accidentally. Boko Haram's targets include schools, police stations, banks, government buildings and churches. Apart from these strategic bombings, the militants also roam the streets killing people randomly. Bauchi State Police Commissioner Aduba Ikechukwu says these militants are well armed, carrying sophisticated weapons including machine guns, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Boko Haram's aim is to make Nigeria ungovernable so they might extract concessions towards the Islamisation of Nigeria. Al-Qaeda supports Boko Haram as a way of furthering its own goal of establishing a sanc tuary and base of operations in Northern Nigeria from where it can launch jihad into West Africa.

For background see: Nigeria: the Boko Haram threat
Religious Liberty Monitoring, 10 July 2011

On Sunday 4 March Egypt-based news website Bikya Masr spoke by phone to a spokesman from Boko Haram who told them that Boko Haram is preparing to launch a 'war' against Christians. He said the campaign, which will involve numerous co-ordinated attacks, is part of a 'plan to eradicate Christians from certain parts of the country'. He also boasted that the government 'cannot be prepared for what is to come'. Such a threat indicates that Boko Haram may be preparing to launch a wave of co-ordinated suicide bombings targeting Christians. The Boko Haram spokesman told Mikya Masr, 'We will create so much effort to end the Christian presence in our push to have a proper Islamic state that the Christians won't be able to stay.'

On Tuesday 6 March the same Boko Haram spokesman told Bikya Masr that the group also plans to 'strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women'. According to the spokesman, the kidnapped Christian women will not be harmed, 'but we [Boko Haram] will demand as ransom that the families leave our Islamic areas'.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --

* protect and deliver his threatened children. 'For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.' (Psalm 27:5 ESV)

* humble and frustrate those who plot against his Church. 'Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.' (Psalm 28:4 ESV)

* redeem these dark days of suffering, to bring awakening to man y Muslims and revival to the Church. For only then -- after they come to the LORD -- 'they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks . . .' (from Isaiah 2:2-4 ESV).

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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BOKO HARAM PLOT TO 'END THE CHRISTIAN PRESENCE' IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

The al-Qaeda-linked Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram has declared it is plotting to 'end the Christian presence' in much of Northern Nigeria. According to a spokesman, the group is preparing to launch a 'war', a campaign of terror, against Christians through co-ordinated bombings and kidnapping Christian women. The women reportedly will be held for ransom and returned only to Christian families who leave the region. The goal is to eradicate Christians completely so that a 'proper Islamic state' might be established. The authorities say Boko Haram is we ll armed with sophisticated weaponry and munitions. This new threat against Christians is very direct and indicates very dangerous days lie ahead. Please pray that God will shield his people and rise up in defence of his Church. May God be glorified.

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Also: WATCHING SUDAN (Updating RLPBs 147 &148)

The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF; also known as the Kauda Alliance) is an alliance of rebel groups from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile. On 26 February the SRF defeated Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops at the strategic garrison town of Jau near the South Sudan border (see RLPB 148). The victory has theoretically opened the Kauda Valley for the Nuba refugees fleeing from genocide. The SRF is appealing for a no-fly zone to be established so that much-needed humanitarian aid can be delivered. On Saturda y 3 March Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir declared that the SAF would 'purge South Kordofan' of 'traitors'. To that end he ordered the reopening of all Popular Defense Forces (PDF) camps across the nation. [The PDF are Arab-Islamic paramilitaries / mujahideen.] He arrogantly predicted that SAF troops would soon perform thanksgiving prayers in the town of Kauda. On 6 March the pro-Khartoum Sudan Vision reported that up to 80,000 paramilitary troops are ready to die in 'defence of the country and its Islamic belief'. Persevere in prayer for our imperilled brothers and sisters fleeing from genocide in Sudan. Psalm 10:16-18.


To see this RLPB with hyperlinks go to Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin

Minorities Fear Persecution in a Post-Assad Syria

Minorities Fear Persecution in a Post-Assad Syria
Why a swift fall of the Syrian regime may be disastrous for the Assyrians


By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (ANS) -- "While much of the rest of the world is waiting for the Assad regime in Syria to crumble, some Syrians, while not supporting the brutal dictatorship, still dread the prospect of a rapid disintegration of the Syrian state power. One such group is Assyrian Christians, who make up around 5 percent of the Syrian population. "There is great concern and fear among the Assyrians. Many think they will have to leave the country as soon as possible should the regime suddenly fall as a result of the uprising," says Rima Haro, a political scientist and Middle East expert, herself of Assyrian origin, living in Sweden."

So wrote By Aron Lamm in the Epoch Times (www.theepochtimes.com).

File photo of Iraqi Assyrians in Damascus, Syria, wearing traditional dress to celebrate the New Year
(Photo: Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)
Lamm said that the Assyrians are an ethnic group, traditionally spread out over Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey, but with a large diaspora in other parts of the world. As Christians in the Muslim-dominated Middle East, they have faced rounds of persecution throughout history, and just like the Kurds, they have not had a nation-state as a homeland.

One country, with a large Assyrian population is Sweden. Over 100,000 Assyrians live here, particularly in the city of Sodertalje, about 19 miles south of the capital Stockholm, he went on to say. Out of 80,000 inhabitants in Sodertalje, more than 20,000 Assyrians are a core part of the community.

"Haro, 36, has been an interpreter and journalist, and worked for the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before becoming a local politician in Stockholm," Lamb continued. "She is an example of why the Assyrians are considered one of Sweden's most well-integrated immigrant groups."

Born of an Assyrian mother and an Armenian father in the northeastern Syrian town of Qamishli, she moved with her family to Sadertalje when she was 10 years old. Like many other Assyrians in Sweden, she is very worried about the current situation in her homeland.

"To be perfectly honest, I dread the prospect of a regime collapse," she said. "I have relatives and friends living there, and I fear for what will happen to them. It will be Iraq or Egypt all over again," she added, referring to the persecution of Christians following both the fall of Saddam Hussein and Hosni Mubarak.

"The several areas where most Christians in Syria live have been relatively quiet, but some Christians, like so many other civilians, have been caught in the crossfire in the brutal siege of Homs recently," wrote Lamm. "Haro hasn't heard of Christians being persecuted in particular, however.

"Haro strongly emphasizes that she in no way supports dictatorship and says that democracy is 'the best thing in the world.' But the fact remains that the Assyrians, with a long history of religious persecution behind them, have had a relatively easy time under Assad, compared to many of their brethren in other countries in the region. If the regime would simply crumble, she, like many Assyrians, fear an even worse bloodbath than the one taking place right now, in the ensuing power struggles and retaliations.

"Furthermore, should fundamentalist forces from the majority Sunni population come to power in Syria, the risk of religious persecution seems obvious to the Assyrians."

Haro, said the journalist, has met many Iraqi Christian refugees in her work as an interpreter, and for them, the persecution that followed in the civil war after the disintegration of Saddam's rule has been a disaster.

Haro says that a similar development in Syria would be a worst case scenario. "We are not too far from that situation right now," she said.

Lamm added, "A peaceful group, largely content with enjoying their religious freedom and not being persecuted, the Assyrians have never challenged the Ba'ath Party's authority. This is also a reason why they have enjoyed relative peace and quiet under the Assad regime, Haro says. Unlike the Kurds, who have carried on an armed struggle for decades, the Assyrians do not pursue dreams of a homeland."

"The Christians in Syria have been very compliant, and in return, their rights have been guaranteed. This has been incredibly important for them," she said.

"Now, however, the Assyrians, like other minorities in Syria, find themselves caught in a bind, Haro says, If they choose not to support the uprising, they may be viewed as regime loyalists and face persecution should the uprising succeed; if they side with the opposition and the regime stays in power, they risk retaliation from the regime."

"I feel really sorry for the minorities right now. They don't know which way to turn," she said.

Lamm said that Haro is very disappointed over the international community's and most of the Western media's stance, that the swift fall of the Assad regime is the only option. She hopes that United Nations-led mediations will be able to break the deadlock and open up for a more peaceful development.

"We need dialogue. Some people say 'It's impossible to have a dialogue with the Assad regime.' But I think we need to try not only once or twice, but three, four or 10 times. People's lives are at stake," she said.

Lamm concluded his story by saying that the best case scenario in Haro's opinion would be if the regime could be convinced to instigate reforms, and eventually to hold free elections. As long as the violence ends and martial law is revoked, years of difficult negotiations would be preferable to an even worse bloodbath.

"It will take a long time, and it's an incredibly complicated situation. It will not be easy to convince the Assad regime to surrender power to anyone else, but I would still like to see all possible options of mediation tried before any attempts at a military solution," she said.