Islam

Peace, Part II

Furious Berlusconi demands apology from wife

Now, which emoticon should I use?! 🙄 😯 😥 😆

I don’t know if either of the Berlusconis are Christians, but I suppose one could also wonder who the real Christians are in this next story.

U.S. denies letting troops convert Afghans

The U.S. military denied Monday it has allowed soldiers to try to convert Afghans to Christianity, after a television network showed pictures of soldiers with bibles translated into local languages.

General Order Number 1 from the U.S. military’s Central Command forbids active duty troops — including all those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan — from trying to convert people to their religion, considered a crime in many Muslim countries.

[…]

“The translated bibles were never distributed as far as we know, because the soldier understood that if he distributed them he would be in violation of general order 1, and he would be subject to punishment.”

No man can serve to masters, Jesus said once upon a time.

Besides, those soldiers are there to kill people, not save them. Or am I missing something?

Other reading: Kosovo and Serbia: A Case Study Regarding Christians in the Military

Tightening Screws

Iran: Screws Tighten on Christians in Government Crackdown

The threatening environment facing Christians in Iran continues to worsen. That’s saying something, considering Christians there have faced incredibly hostile responses for a long time.

[…]

Open Doors tracks the hatred and distrust of Christianity internationally, assigning rankings to the most dangerous spots for Christians to practice their faith. For the past seven years Iran ranked third behind No. 2 Saudi Arabia and No. 1 North Korea. In January, Iran moved into a tie for second with Saudi Arabia.

[…]

The government is reacting to the growth by expanding the powers of Parliament to effectively persecute Christians. Currently, anyone charged with apostasy goes before a court, where the judge rules on a case-by-case basis. The penalty might be hard labor or prison or simply a fine.

If the recent bill becomes law, however, it would create a new penal code by which conservative Muslim clerics would make the final decision on each case of apostasy. Any Iranian man found guilty would be put to death, while women would receive life imprisonment.

Hat Tip: International Christian Concern

Cannon Fodder from America?

American Somali children join jihad

Several Somali children have left the US to join the ‘jihad’ against foreign forces in Somalia, it has been reported.

According to the MidEast News Source, the children, mainly from Minneapolis and Minnesota left the country in secret, with one mother claiming that the first she knew of it was when her son called her from Mogadishu. She had earlier reported her son missing to police.

[…]

Observers believe that American children are now joining the jihad, and they have suggested that some were involved in a string of suicide attacks in Somaliland and Puntland.

It seems that their involvement coincided with the arrival of Ethiopian troops, who defeated the Islamic Courts Union. Following the recent peace deal, the Ethiopian troops have now departed.

Most of the children appear to have links with Abubakar Alsiddiq mosque in Minneapolis. But the imam there, Sheikh Abdirahman Ahmed, claimed the accusations were baseless and denied that he was recruiting fighters. There are also concerns in Europe and other continents that children are leaving for jihad in Somalia.

Under Siege in Egypt

Daughter of Convert Attempts Suicide

Mariam Azmy Fouad, a Christian secondary school student in the satellite city of Tenth of Ramadan east of Cairo, narrowly escaped death when she attempted suicide after being required by her school to sit for an Islamic religion test paper even though she is Christian. Mariam’s father had converted to Islam making her, according to Egyptian law, automatically a Muslim. She was shocked and greatly humiliated at the sarcasm of her classmates which brought on hysterical tears and apparently made suicide a welcome idea.

She repeatedly cried she was Christian and would not answer the test, insisting that her faith had nothing to do with her father. After swallowing some pills, Mariam was moved to hospital where she was given a gastric lavage to save her life.

[…]

Mariam was finally allowed to take the Christian religion exam on January 29, the last day of the school term.

Pray for her strength. And her faith. And her hope. And her joy. And her peace. And her….

Christian Seed in Islamic Soil

Revival Comes to the Muslim World

Some call it a revolution in the Middle East but it’s not the result of political movement. Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus Christ in large numbers.

[…]

“Just in the four countries we work in, we’re projecting one hundred new churches just in Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt,” he explained. “In Iran, the ministries that are working together are projecting 10,000 churches in Iran next year. That’s how fast they’re opening up to the Gospel.”

So there is good news out there!

Egypt: Martha Samuel

Children starved to coerce mom to renounce Christ

Authorities in Egypt are starving two children, ages 2 and 4, to force their mother to abandon Christianity and return to Islam, according to reports from several ministry organizations.

The Egypt for Christ Ministry is reporting the woman, who converted to Christianity about five years ago and was arrested as she tried to leave her home country just days ago, also has been sexually assaulted by police officers.

The woman, identified by the ministry as Martha Samuel, also has been beaten and tortured in effort to force her to return to Islam, with police promises for her release if she accepts, according to the reports.

The Assyrian International News Agency said Samuel was arrested last week as she, her husband and two sons were trying to leave Cairo for Russia after her name was placed on a list of people barred from leaving Egypt.

Other news links for this story:

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