Arab, Palestinian in West Bank / Gaza
Palestinians are generally pleasant, generous and friendly. They are traditionally hospitable and prepare elaborate dinners for their guests, regardless of their economic situation. Palestinians are predominantly adherents of Sunni Islam with a minority Christian community. The Holy Land, birthplace of Jesus Christ and the land from where Christianity spread over the entire world, is also the birthplace of the Palestinian Church.Ministry Obstacles Turmoil in Israel and the West Bank / Gaza makes Christian witness to the Palestinians challenging, but turmoil sometimes makes people more open to change. Outreach Ideas Christians need to be genuinely concerned about the plight of the Palestinians, doing what they can to minister to these people. Christ died for the Palestinians, as well as for others. Pray for the followers of Christ Palestinian Arabs have had a strong Christian presence for generations, but today they struggle greatly. Pray for the believers in Christ, that they will be accepted by both Muslim Arabs and Jews. Christians in other parts of the world need to be alert to the needs of the Palestinian Christians, praying for them and doing what they can to alleviate their suffering. Pray for the entire people group Pray for the Palestinians in both Israel and the West Bank / Gaza to increasingly experience peace, with political stability, and improving economic conditions. Scripture Focus "Since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 18:18 | 
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By Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST News Service
PUNJAB PROVINCE, PAKISTAN (ANS – December 9, 2017) -- Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian mother-of-five who was found guilty in 2010 of blasphemy for standing up for Jesus and sentenced to death, faces another lonely Christmas in her “death row” cell.
While many of us will be enjoying fellowship and food on Christmas Day, for the birthday of Jesus, she will spend it in solitary confinement in an 8-by-10-foot cell without windows, and she will even have to cook her own Christmas meal because of fears that others may try to poison her food.
Asia will be away from her husband, Ashiq Masih, and her children, and again will wonder what the New Year has in store for her, especially as the most recent appeal against her sentenced was abandoned back in October when one of Supreme Court judges picked to hear her case, suddenly withdrew from it, left the court, and resigned.
Asia Bibi’s nightmare began back in June of 2009, when she was harvesting falsa berries with a group of mainly Muslim women farmhands in a field in Sheikhupura in Punjab Province. She was asked at one point to fetch water from a nearby well; to which she complied, but stopped to take a drink with an old metal cup that she had found lying next to the well.
A neighbor of Asia, who had allegedly been involved in a running feud with her family about some property damage, saw her and angrily told her that it was forbidden for a Christian to drink water from the same utensil from which Muslims drank, and some of the other workers considered her to be “unclean” because she was a Christian.
Some arguments ensued and Asia recounts that when they made derogatory statements about her strongly-held Christian faith, she responded by telling them, “I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. What did your Prophet Mohammad ever do to save mankind?”
This incensed the women, and later, some of the workers complained to a local Islamic cleric claiming that she had insulted Muhammad and soon an angry mob came to her house, beating her and members of her family before she was rescued by the police. One report even alleged that she was gang-raped for her alleged crime of blasphemy, was been beaten all the way home, and then her children were later sexually molested.
The police initiated an investigation about her remarks, which resulted in her arrest under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code. She subsequently was imprisoned for over a year upon the demands of the local Iman, before being formally charged under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws. Asia Bibi has now been incarcerated since June 2009.
Ms. Bibi denied that she had committed blasphemy and said that she had been accused by her neighbor to “settle an old score”. In November 2010, a judge at the court of Sheikhupura, sentenced her to death by hanging. Additionally, a fine of the equivalent of $1,100 was imposed. With the verdict, she became the first woman condemned to death in Pakistan on blasphemy charges.
In December 2010, a month after her conviction, a Muslim cleric announced a 500,000 Pakistani rupee award (the equivalent of $10,000) to anyone who would kill her. One survey reported that around 10 million Pakistanis had said that they would be willing to personally kill her out of either religious conviction or for the reward. Others have gathered in the streets of several town chanting “kill her, kill her.”
Asia’s family has received threats and has gone into hiding. Ashiq, her husband, stated that he was afraid to let their children go outside. He also expressed concern about how his wife would be kept safe should she be released, saying, “No one will let her live. The mullahs are saying they will kill her when she comes out.” Her family declined to leave the country while she remained in prison, but Italy, France, and Spain all offered to grant her and her family asylum in the event of her release.
Two prominent Pakistani leaders, Salmaan Taseer, the then governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, were both murdered for supporting Asia Bibi.
She is still awaiting for her appeal against the death sentence to be heard, but there is no indication of when that might be.
So this Christmas, would join with me in praying for Asia Bibi and her family, and also would you consider letting your local politicians know of her plight, so they can take action.
We at ANS pledge to continue to bring you vital updates on this travesty of a case, and also of the many others who, like Asia Bibi, who will have a lonely Christmas, particularly in the refugee camps of the Middle East, or in the prisons in Iran.
Very soon, on Tuesday, December 19, 2017, I will celebrate my 77th birthday, and, despite feeling my age, I believe that God wants me to continue with our news service. We are all volunteers, meaning we don’t receive a regular salary, and so we depend on friends like you to support us as you are able.
If you value our journalism, would you consider a generous end-of-the year donation so that we can continue our work for the Kingdom? Your gift will make a tremendous difference what we are able to do and would be deeply appreciated.
It’s very simple, yet can make such a difference. Just go to www.assistnews.netand scroll down to where it says DONATE TO ASSIST NEWS and put in your amount there. If you prefer a check, just make it out to ASSIST and mail it to: PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA. (All gifts in the US are tax-deductible).
Again, please pray for Asia Bibi and her family, and also for all of our many Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering untold violence for following Jesus Christ, and I also thank you in advance for your donation, which will allow us to continue to bring you their stories.
Photo captions: 1) Asia Bibi. 2) Muslims who want to hang Asia Bibi. 3) Salmaan Taseer, the then governor of Punjab who was later killed for supporting Ms. Bibi. He is seen here as she is being finger printed. 4) Norma and Dan Wooding.
About the writer: Dan Wooding, 76, is an award-winning journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 54 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder of the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts a weekly radio show and two TV shows, all based in in Southern California. Dan is the author of numerous books, the latest of which is a novel called Mary, My Story from Bethlehem to Calvary, which tells the story of Jesus through the eyes of his beloved mother, Mary. Dan believes it would make an excellent Christmas gift for a friend or family member, and you can find out more about it by going to: http://marythebook.com/.
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). Please also tell your friends that they can receive a free subscription to our news service by going to the above website and signing up there.
JAGUZI ISLAND, UGANDA (ANS -- December 10, 2017) -- A former sheikh (Islamic teacher) in eastern Uganda has been in hiding since he lost his family for putting his faith in Christ two years ago, but last month he was tricked into a life-threatening encounter.
About the writer: Dan Wooding, 76, is an award-winning journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 54 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder of the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts a weekly radio show and two TV shows, all based in in Southern California. Dan is the author of numerous books, one of which was Uganda Holocaust, which he co-authored with Ray Barnett, which tells the story of the terrible eight years of misrule of Idi Amin, who is reported to have been responsible for the deaths of 300,000 Christians.
Pastor Victor Kanayo of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was killed in a town in Lagos state on Nov. 26 by an occult group known as Badoo, a week after suspected Badoo members killed Iyabo Alaba and her two children, 4 and 8, at Celestial Church of Christ in Lagos city, according to local reports.
Three-quarters of the occult attacks in Ikorodu target a church member or pastor or their relatives, he said.
About the Writer: Michael Ireland is a volunteer internet journalist serving as Chief Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as an Ordained Minister, and an award-winning local cable-TV program host/producer who has served with ASSIST Ministries and written for ANS since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. You may follow Michael on Facebook at 
GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM (ANS -- December 10, 2017) -- Usman Shaukat Masih, a 29-year-old Pakistani Christian man, who was in Kot Lakh Pat jail in Pakistan while he was on trial in an anti-terrorist court following accusations that, alongside a charged mob, he had attacked government properties in the wake of the 2015 Lahore church bomb attacks has died on Saturday December 9, 2017, ANS has learnt.
Mr. Khokhar, a former member of provincial assembly Sindh, who now lives in Liverpool, United Kingdom, told ANS that the deputy attorney general of the Punjab government had in the past allegedly offered a “pardon” to Masih if he embraced Islam.
He told ANS that he recently wrote a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, urging him to protect minority rights in Pakistan.
Asher Sarfraz, Chief executive of the Christian True Spirt (CTS), who lives in Germany, confirmed the death of Masih in Kot Lakh Pat Jail, stating that his team in Pakistan were working to ascertain the circumstances leading to Masih’s death. Founded in 2010, CTS has been working to advocate the cause of Pakistani Christians. Mr. Sarfraz claimed that his group had been representing Pakistani Christians in the European Parliament breakfast for last two years. “We advocated the cause of the Pakistani Christians at the European parliament breakfast on December 6, 2017,” he said.
About the writer: Sheraz Khan is a Pakistani-British journalist. He lives in Scotland and can be contacted by e-mail: 
