MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Update: New reports now indicate at least 50 have been killed …

“LAGOS, Nigeria – A car bomb exploded along a busy roadway Sunday morning in a central Nigeria city, killing at least 38 people in the latest attack on a region beset by religious, ethnic and political violence, an official said.

The blast struck Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna state, leaving charred motorcycles and debris strewn across a major road in the city where many gather to eat at informal restaurants and buy black market gasoline. Nearby hotels had their windows blown out of by the force of the powerful explosion, which engulfed a group of motorcycle taximen.

At least 38 people were killed in the blast, said Abubakar Zakari Adamu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state Emergency Management Agency. Others suffered serious injuries and were receiving treatment at local hospitals, Adamu said.

The explosion badly damaged the nearby All Nations Christian Assembly Church as churchgoers worshipped at an Easter service, the possible target of the bomber. Witnesses said it appeared the explosive-laden car attempted to go into the compound of that church before it detonated.

‘We were in the holy communion service and I was exhorting my people and all of a sudden, we heard a loud noise that shattered all our windows and doors, destroyed our fans and some of our equipment in the church,’ Pastor Joshua Raji said.

Another witness, Augustine Vincent, said he was riding a motorcycle just behind the car when it exploded.

‘God saw our heart and saved us,’ he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.” Read more.

By Maria Gomes – “Dhaka (AsiaNews) – ‘I believe in Christ. I welcomed him’ for ‘he is my saviour,’ said Vincent (not his real name for security reasons), a former Bangladeshi imam who is now Catholic and for this reason has endured persecution for a long time in his native community.

His journey towards conversion began abroad, far from Bangladesh. It led him first to baptism in the Presbyterian Church. After that, he fell in love with a Catholic woman, married her and then converted to her faith. Once they were back in Bangladesh, Vincent and his wife were welcomed by threats and violence. Members of his community beat him almost to death.

Islam in the state religion in Bangladesh but the constitution does not recognise Sharia and guarantees freedom of worship. This makes it one of the most open Muslim states, where conversions can occur in an atmosphere of general tolerance.

However, Islam’s social and cultural ascendancy is such that in many communities all sorts of pressure is put on people. In some cases, notaries refuse to sign papers testifying to conversions. In other cases, like that of the former imam, people resort to physical and psychological violence.

After almost two months in hospital, Vincent is back home. But the same Muslims who followed him and held him in high esteem when he was their imam now cannot accept his new ‘status’.

Beating is also not enough. Other forms of violence can be used. Both husband and wife have been ostracised, forced to move from home to home. Vincent eventually lost his job and now has to do odd jobs to survive.

Today he is a troubled man. Yet, his community’s banishment has not pushed him away from Jesus. He continues to attend Mass now more than ever, and repeat, ‘I believe in Christ. In him, I was reborn. He is my Saviour.'” Source – AsiaNews.it.

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI, The Associated Press – “Bamako, Mali • Mali’s crisis deepened Wednesday, as officials in the fabled northern city of Timbuktu confirmed that the Islamic rebel faction that seized control of the town over the weekend has announced it will impose sharia law.

Rebels in the country’s distant north have taken advantage of the power vacuum created last month when renegade soldiers in the capital of Bamako overthrew the nation’s democratically elected leader. In the chaos that followed the March 21 coup, they advanced on strategic towns in the north, including the ancient city of Timbuktu, located over 620 miles from the capital.

The ethnic Tuareg rebels included a secular faction fighting for independence, and an Islamic wing, Ansar Dine, whose reclusive leader called a meeting of all the imams in the city on Tuesday to make his announcement.

‘He had the meeting to make his message to the people known, that sharia law is now going to be applied,’ said the Mayor of Timbuktu Ousmane Halle, who was reached by telephone. ‘When there is a strongman in front of you, you listen to him. You can’t react,’ he said, when asked what the reaction was of the imams of a historic town known for its religious pluralism and its moderate interpretation of Islam.

‘Things are going to heat up here. Our women are not going to wear the veil just like that,’ said the mayor.

Kader Kalil, the director of a communal radio station who was asked to cover the meeting and who later interviewed the Ansar Dine leader Iyad Ag Ghali, confirmed that sharia had been imposed.

He said in addition to the wearing of the veil, thieves will be punished by having their hands cut off and adulterers will be stoned to death.

In a show of force, the Islamic rebels on Wednesday drove through the town in a tank-like armored-personnel carrier, their ominous black flag flapping in the wind above the cannon.

More than 90 percent of the city’s roughly 300 Christians have fled since the city fell to the rebels on Sunday, said Baptist Pastor Nock Ag Info Yattara, who is now in Bamako. He said not one of the 205 people in his congregation, which has worshipped in Timbuktu since the 1950s, has stayed behind. ‘We cannot live like that,’ he said.” Read more.

By Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter – “An Egyptian court has sentenced this week a 17-year-old Coptic student to three years in jail for posting drawings of the prophet Muhammad on his Facebook profile in Dec. 2011. The court ruled that the images were offensive to Islam and mocked the prophet.

‘Assiut child’s court ordered the jailing of Gamal Abdou Massoud … for three years after he insulted Islam and published and distributed pictures that insulted Islam and its Prophet,’ a statement issued by the court read, as reported by Reuters.

The images appeared on Massoud’s Facebook page in December of last year, and caused riots and attacks on Coptic Christians in his hometown of Assuit, in southern Egypt.

Villagers attacked Massoud’s home as well as the homes of other Christians, and security and military forces were reportedly dispersed across Massoud’s hometown to prevent further vandalism, firing tear gas at the Muslim protesters.

Several Christian homes were burned during the attacks, and several Christians were injured.

Massoud was also accused of distributing the images to some of his school friends. The teen argued that he did not upload the offensive drawings onto his Facebook account, but rather they were posted without his knowledge.” Read more.