MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Aaron Klein – “JERUSALEM – As Islamic groups gain power throughout the Middle East, Christians here fear for their safety and are concerned about their role with regard to the future of the volatile region.

‘I fear for the Christians of the Middle East because it’s a bad situation for them,’ Lebanese parliamentarian Samy Gemayel told WND.

Gemayel, a senior member of the Phalange party, said he received information last week about a specific assassination plot against him.

‘I just got the information from the head of security, and he asked me not to go to a specific place, because he had information that something was going to happen there,’ he said.

While the exact nature of the purported assassination plot remains unclear, Gemayel, who descends from a historic Lebanese Christian family, said he is taking the new threats seriously.

His older brother, Pierre, was a member of parliament and a government minister before his assassination Nov. 21, 2006. His uncle, former President-elect Bashir Gemayel, also was assassinated.

Christians have been a minority in numerous Middle East countries for several decades, facing routine mistreatment and occasional persecution for much of that time.

However, in the last year, the so-called Arab Spring has sparked intensified concern, with reports of an increase in attacks against Christians in some countries here.” Read more.

Egypt Becoming More Dangerous for Christians and Freedom – “Egypt is continuing to crack down on Christians and supporters of liberty and religious freedom, as the Egyptian government fails to protect some of it citizens and outright persecutes others. In the wake of the Arab Spring, Egypt is teetering on the brink of lawlessness as evidenced by recent kidnappings, melees, and killings. There are new reports that the Egyptian military government has arrested 43 individuals, including 19 U.S. citizens, ‘as it appears to be tightening the noose around the country’s pro-democracy civil society.'” Read more.

As order breaks down in Syria, its Christians suffer the consequences – “As Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov today meets with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascas, the estimated 2.5 million Christians in Syria live in fear, stuck between a rock and a hard place. As the news of Syrians being slaughtered continues at a relentless pace, it is thought that over one hundred Christians have now been targeted, either killed or kidnapped in brutal ways. Reporting last month, the organisation Barnabas Fund which campaigns on behalf of persecuted Christians has explained:” Read more.

Here’s an update on this story. Let’s hope he stays in custody and justice is served in full …

BBC News – “A man suspected of masterminding the deadly bombing of a Nigerian church on Christmas Day has been recaptured, Nigeria authorities have said.

Officials say the suspect, Kabiru Sokoto, was captured in the eastern state of Taraba.

He is accused of being a member of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, which has said it carried out the attack.

His escape last month was a huge embarrassment for the police, whose head was sacked shortly afterwards.

Boko Haram has staged a series of increasingly deadly attacks in recent years – last month 185 people were killed during a series of bombings in Kano.

Dozens of people died when a church on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, was bombed on Christmas day.

Mr Sokoto was first arrested last month, but escaped the next day while being escorted by police.

‘He was re-arrested this morning at Mutum Biu in Taraba State by the [secret police],’ a security source told AFP. ‘He’s being flown to Abuja now by the Nigeria air force.'” Read more.

By Mohabat News – “Plain clothes security authorities raided a house church and arrested 10 members who were gathered for prayer service. All 10 detainees were transferred to an unknown location.

According to Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News’ reporters, following the continued arrests of Iranian Christians, Iranian security authorities invaded a residential building used as house church on 8 February 2012, and arrested 10 Christian converts gathered there to worship.

These believers who had gathered in a home to hold a worship service were arrested and transferred to an unknown location using a police vehicle.

The location of the detainees is still unknown despite their family’s efforts. The authorities refuse to give any information in this regard.

Although precise details are still not available in this respect, the report from Mohabat News indicates that a man called Mojtaba Hosseini is among the people arrested. He was also arrested on 11 May, 2008 together with 8 other Christian converts on charges of having a Christian faith. Security officials had asked the then 21 year old, Mojtaba Hosseini to renounce his faith and collaborate with the Intelligence office.

It is also noteworthy that last month reports were published regarding the arrest of a number of Christians in the AOG church of Ahwaz including the pastor of the church and two other church members.

Today, the pressures and security measures implemented by the Islamic Republic against churches in Iran have resulted in the closure of churches in which services were being held in Farsi. The other churches which are allowed to remain open, are obliged by order of the Intelligence Ministry to prevent Farsi speakers from entering their churches. In spite of all these circumstances, when people from other religious backgrounds embrace Christianity, they feel the need to gather in small groups in their homes and dedicate their own personal houses for worship services. The Islamic Republic of Iran considers such groups security and spying tools for the west.” Source – Mohabat News.

Qur’an Sura 9:30, “… the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of [God].’ That is their statement from their mouths … May Allah destroy them …”

Qur’an Sura 3:85, “And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers [burning in hell].”

Commentary Magazine – “A story in today’s International Herald Tribune (read here on the New York Times website) provides an interesting insight into exactly what happens when a secular state is taken over by Islamists. The piece concerned the Hagia Sophia of Iznik, an ancient church that brought 40,000 tourists to the town south of Istanbul much to the delight of the locals. Iznik was once known as Nicaea, and it was there the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church met at the Hagia Sophia in the year 325. But the Islamist government of Turkey has put a damper on the prosperity of those who profited from the museum by formally converting the building into a mosque.

Of course, after the Muslim conquest of the Byzantine Empire, all churches in the region were turned into mosques, with the most conspicuous example being the majestic Hagia Sophia of Constantinople (now Istanbul). But unlike that more famous site, which was registered as a museum when Turkey became a secular republic, the one in Iznik was never formally named as such, though it served in that function and had not been used as a mosque in well over a century. The ruling AKP party of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken the initiative to reinstitute Muslim-only worship at the place, much to the dismay of the Muslim residents of the town who point out there was no shortage of mosques there. But to the AKP, the ancient surge to plant the flag of Islam over the ruins of other cultures is more important than tourism.

The irony here is the Turkish Ministry of Culture had been hoping to promote the place to increase its share of tourists from Europe and elsewhere, especially those interested in the considerable Christian heritage of the region. But like the abortive effort to entice Americans to go to Turkey to see the place where the original Saint Nicholas lived during their Christmas holidays, the AKP’s intolerance trumps other considerations.

While people in the town are appalled at this turn of events, it appears the decision came straight from the top…” Read more.

Christians burned alive by Islamists in Nigeria

“The Church of England’s ruling body called this week on the Government to ‘do all it can’ to support the protection of religious minorities in Nigeria.

In an address to General Synod, the Bishop of Durham the Rt Rev Justin Welby said violence in Nigeria had become ‘pervasive’.

‘[We are here] to consider the fate of a church that in the north of Nigeria is systematically, deliberately and progressively being eliminated,’ he said.

While he acknowledged that some attacks were being committed against Muslims, he said the ‘vast majority’ of the violence was being directed at Christians.

Nigeria is split roughly between a largely Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Churches and Christian communities in the north have come under increasing attack from Islamic militant group Boko Haram.

Dozens of people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in Nigeria on Christmas Day. Targets included St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla.

In the weeks that followed, dozens more Christians were killed in an attack on a church in Gombe and a town hall meeting in Mubi.

The scale of the violence has caused thousands of people to flee to the south.

A report to Synod warned that the church in the north east of the country in particular had received ‘little protection, if any’.

Many Anglican churches in Jos and Kaduna have been burned down and the Bishop of Damaturu is presently in hiding further south.

‘His flock is scattered, his church destroyed,’ said Bishop Welby.

‘It is too dangerous for him to return and there is little sign at present of that changing.'” Read more.

By Mohabat News – “In the latest approach of the Islamic Republic of Iran to oppose the growth of Christianity, a Christian convert was sentenced to one year of deprivation of education by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

According to Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News, Ms. Fatemeh Nouri, an art student in one of the universities in Tehran (The name of university is withheld for security reasons) was sentenced to one year of deprivation of education by the Revolutionary Court for believing in Christianity.

Ms. Nouri is a Christian convert who was arrested by security authorities on September 2011 at her residence in east Tehran and then transferred to Evin prison.

Ms. Nouri was convicted on charges of ‘attending a house church, insulting sacred figures and activities against national security’ in Revolutionary Courts branch of Moalem Street. The judge’s ruling was one year deprivation of education for her.

This Christian convert was released on 30 November 2011, after nearly three months in prison, but the sentence of deprivation of education remained in place.

Ms. Nouri’s arrest was related to the case of another Christian convert, Leila Mohammadi.” Read more.

Pakistan: Christian Denied Medical School For Not Memorizing the Qur’an – “Haroon Arif, a student from DG Khan in Punjab, could not get high enough marks to get into medical school. This is a standard situation for many young people in the country. What’s different here is that Haroon, who missed the grade by less than 0.1%, would have earned 20 extra marks if he was Hafiz-e-Quran. He tried to claim his knowledge of the Bible was equivalent, but this made no impact. ‘I deserved it and yet just because I am Christian, I have been put at a disadvantage,’ Haroon says. He found out about the discrimination on viewing the results at his test centre last month. ‘There was a separate column for Hafiz-e-Quran, and I found out that those who had memorised the holy book got 20 extra marks,’ he adds. Haroon got A grades in both matriculation and intermediate exams, but was an agonising 0.0255% behind the line for medical school in his final aggregate. This miniscule figure changed the course of his life.” Read more.

Hadith: Bukhari 9.84.57, “Muhammad said, ‘Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.’”

Sura 8:12b, “… terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an.”

“NAIROBI, Kenya, February 8 (CDN) — Islamic extremists from the rebel al Shabaab militia in Somalia beheaded a Christian on the outskirts of Mogadishu last month, sources said.

The militants fighting the transitional government in Mogadishu murdered Zakaria Hussein Omar, 26, on Jan. 2 in Cee-carfiid village, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) outside of the Somali capital, they said. Omar had worked for a Christian humanitarian organization that al Shabaab banned last year.

His body was left lying for 20 hours before nomads found it and carried it into Mogadishu, a close friend said.

‘We have been communicating with Omar, and he was sharing with me his life as a Christian,’ the friend said. ‘Last year he mentioned to me that his life was in danger when the NGO [Non-Governmental Organization] he worked for was banned by the al Shabaab.’

The friend said he identified the body.

‘One of the persons who saw him said, ‘This is the young man who stayed in Ethiopia, and people have been saying that he left Islam and joined Christianity.”

Omar converted to Christianity seven years ago while in Ethiopia, where he lived with relatives. He returned to Somalia in 2008 and completed his university education in 2009 with a degree in accounting.

Omar had married in the latter part of 2010. He is survived by his wife, his parents (originally from central Somalia), a brother and four sisters.

Last September, the militants beheaded another young Christian near Mogadishu. The militants, who have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity, killed Guled Jama Muktar on Sept. 25 in his home near Deynile, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mogadishu.

Earlier that month, a kidnapped Christian convert from Islam was found decapitated on the outskirts of Hudur City in Bakool region, in southwestern Somalia. Juma Nuradin Kamil was forced into a car by three suspected Islamic extremists from the al Shabaab terrorist group on Aug. 21, 2011 and murdered on Sept. 2, area sources said.” Read more.