MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

AsiaNews – “A Kurdish ambulance driver refused to transport the body of an Assyrian woman from the hospital to the church, saying it was forbidden in Islam. The incident occurred in Iraqi Kurdistan, a symptom of the country’s growing ethnic-religious polarisation.

The body of the Assyrian woman, who died last Sunday at Zarkari hospital in Erbil, had to be brought to the town of Ankawa, but the Muslim ambulance driver refused to drive to the church because it is ‘haram’ (forbidden) in Islam.

Marivan Naqshbandi, media director at the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Kurdish Regional Government in north of Iraq, asked the Health Ministry to open an investigation into the case.

‘The Committee for promoting religious coexistence, which was formed recently in the region, should follow up on this case to insure that civil servants carry out their duties professionally and impartially and not on the basis of personal religious beliefs,’ he said.

Insecurity and violence are rising in the country, especially after US and international troops left in 2011.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Cleric In Iraq Issues New Fatwa To All Iraqi Christians: Choose Islam Or Be Killed – “An Advent of light and shadow for Iraq’s Christians, who are celebrating the reopening of the cathedral of Baghdad but at the same time subjected to new – and heavy – threats from a radical Shiite Muslim leader. From studies of a television broadcaster based in Egypt, an Iraqi Ayatollah launches a fatwa against the religious minority on the eve of Christmas: ‘Conversion to Islam or death.’… Labeling them as ‘polytheists’ and ‘friends of the Zionists’, the extremist leader stressed that they must choose ‘or Islam or death,’ while ‘their women and girls may legitimately be regarded wives of Muslims.’” Read more.

Flashback: ‘They Want Christians Out’: In Effort To Make Iraq A ‘Muslim Only’ Country, Islamists Make Christians Continuous Targets Of Violent Attacks – “Islamist extremists want Iraq to be a ‘Muslim only’ country. As a result, Christians in Iraq remain continuous targets of violent attacks… A Christian in Mosul was the target of two attacks in one week last March. After the first bomb exploded in his house on a Wednesday, a second one was thrown over his fence on Sunday… targeted attacks serve only one purpose, shares the field worker: ‘We received documents and threats stating that the aim of the Islamist Insurgents is to make Iraq a ‘Muslim only’ country; they want the Christians out.’” Read more.

Flashback: Men Running, Women Pleading For God’s Mercy, Children Screaming Out Of Fear: ‘Cleansing’ In Iraq Of Christians Continues Unabated – “Men running, women pleading for God’s mercy, children screaming out of fear, older women trapped under rubble and thick dust rising in the air. This has been a recurring scene in Iraqi cities for close to a decade. Since June 26, 2004, Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) churches have come under attack more than 80 times. The most widely publicized assault came on Oct. 31, 2010, when Islamic terrorists wearing suicide vests invaded Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad during mass, shot two priests and then blew themselves up. When it was over, 62 people were killed and 78 injured.” Read more.

Daniel 11:37a, “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers [Yahweh], nor the desire of women …”

Al Rod Al Anf, Volume 2, Page 182: “You see [our god Allah] will soon make you inherit their land, their treasures and make you sleep with their women.” (The Words of Mohammed as Recorded by Ibn Hisham)

By Michael Carl, WND – “Syria’s young Christian women are bearing the biggest brunt of the two-year-old civil war, according to a human rights group.

The report by Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, released by Open Doors USA, estimates there have been more than 100,000 casualties since the war’s beginning in 2011.

Five thousand of those casualties are children under the age of 16.

Open Doors spokesman Jerry Dykstra told WND that a disproportionate number of the casualties are young Christian women and girls.

‘The fact is there have been reports of rape of women and girls in Christian communities of Syria. In some of the areas, students stay home from school and church. One report said 5,000 children 16 and below have been killed in the war,’ Dykstra said.

International Christian Concern’s Middle East area specialist Todd Daniels says that non-Muslim Christian women are the target of a fatwa, a religious instruction under Islam.

‘Women, especially those who are non-Sunni, have been particularly affected by the influx of militant Islamic extremists,’ Daniels said. ‘They have taken to abusing non-Sunni women who are viewed as infidels or worse.’

He said the fatwa is an ‘example of the kind of ideology that is not only permitting but in some instances even encouraging treatment of these women in what is really an inhumane way.’

The fatwa was issued by Jordan-born Salafi cleric Sheikh Yasir al-Ajlawni, who said Muslims fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can legally ‘capture and have sex with all non-Sunni women.’

Daniels says that means the sheik is permitting rape of all non-Muslim women. Even though the fatwa includes all non-Sunni women, he said, Syria’s Christian women are getting the worst treatment.

Daniels said he has met with Syrian who still have close links to the country and has heard a number of stories of attacks.

‘There have been a lot of refugees who have fled from the Qusair region to Damascus, and they have very bad stories of what they are experiencing,’ Daniels said.

A young Syrian Christian woman told WND through Open Doors that before the war, Christians were on the fringes. She said that now they’re rebel targets.” Read more.

Flashback: Raping Women In Syria Is Blessed By “Allah”

• 15-Year-Old Christian Girl Systematically Raped By Syrian Rebels
• Jordanian Cleric Issues Fatwa Permitting The Rape Of Non-Sunni Women In Syria
• Saudi Fatwa Permits Syrian Rebels To Rape Women To Solve Their ‘Sexual Problems’
• Cleric: Christian Women Who Refuse To Dress Like Islamic Women Should Be Raped
• ‘Religiously Sanctioned Prostitution’: Islamic Pedofiles The World Over Flock To Syrian Refugee Camps To ‘Marry’ And Rape Syrian Girls

AINA – “The recent upheaval in Egypt once again brings to the forefront the plight of the country’s Christians who have come under increased attack from Islamists since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

Now they’re hoping and praying Egypt’s next government will do a better job of protecting them from attacks and the trafficking of Christian girls.

Funerals like the recent one at St. Mina Church in North Sinai have become all too familiar for Egyptian Christians. Friends and family recently paid final respects to Father Mina Aboud, a beloved Coptic priest. Islamist gunmen opened fire on Mina July 6 while he drove his car after shopping in the northern Sinai town of el Arish.

Father Mina’s murder was no surprise to Egypt’s Christians because they are frequent targets of attack during times of political instability. Christians have struggled for years–not only to protect their churches, homes and businesses, but also their daughters.

One of the challenges facing Christian families, particularly in Upper Egypt, is the kidnapping of young Christian girls. It generally happens when the girls enter their teen years.

To help avoid this tragedy, some families re-locate to Christian villages. But with that comes a whole new set of challenges.

Manel moved her family from a Muslim village to a Christian one near el Minya because she wanted to protect her oldest daughter Maryam from abduction and forced conversion. She made the decision after noticing some Muslim girls and boys attempting to lure Maryam away from her family and faith.

‘The girls used to tell Maryam, ‘Come with us, we will give you a some money, you are having a hard life.’ The young boys were sending the young girls to do this,’ Manel explained. ‘I feared they would kidnap her and then demand a lot of money to return her, or they would return her and she wouldn’t be in the same way as they took her.’ Now residing as strangers in a new town, Manel’s husband has difficulty finding work.

‘I’m much happier now because it is safe for my daughters here, but the working opportunities for my husband are little because few people know my husband,’ she said.

Maryam’s family borrowed money to buy food and make their house payment. They prayed God would provide help.

She and her family are not alone. Last year, a Helsinki Commission hearing revealed the number of disappearances and abduction of Christian girls is increasing. Human trafficking expert Michel Clark told of more than 800 cases.” Read more.

Flashback: Heartbreaking Video Gives Viewers A Taste Of The Growing Plight Of Egypt’s Christians – “A procession of Christians bravely vows to stand firm in the faith of Christ, even unto death. An anguished church leader cries out to the Lord to deliver His people from their turmoil. A Christian mother languishes over the abduction of her daughter. This is but a mere drop in what has now become a sea of Christian persecution …” Read more.

Those believing in Truth will certainly make a nation whose foundations are based upon lies feel insecure …

Christianity Today – “Eight Iranian Christians received heavy jail sentences on July 16 after being found guilty of ‘action against the national security’ and ‘propaganda against the system’.

According to a story by Morning Star News, human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the eight members of the Church of Iran were sentenced in Shiraz, 571 miles south of Tehran.

Seven of them were originally arrested in Oct. 2012, when security forces raided an evening prayer service. The eighth, Massoud Rezaid, was arrested six days later.

Sentences ranged between one and six years.

Morning Star News said Iranian Christian leaders denied the eight were involved in politically subversive activity.

‘In accordance with the gospel, the church is apolitical,’ said a statement released by the National Council of the Church of Iran.

‘While individual Christians are entitled to hold political opinions, the church does not. These charges are entirely without foundation.

‘However, as loyal citizens we will continue to pray for our leaders and for peace and reconciliation in our nation.’…

Morning Star News said the sentencing comes a month after the presidential election of Hassan Rouhani. Many international analysts believed he would be a modernising force after the eight-year presidency of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his crack-down on religious minorities and political dissidents.

Little has changed in terms of religious freedoms for non-Muslims since Rouhani’s election, CSW Press Officer Kiri Kankhwende told Morning Star News.” Read more.

Flashback: Iran Intensifies Violent Crackdown On Christians, Even Imprisoning Nursing Mothers For Being Non-Muslim – “Iran’s hard-line regime has intensified its violent crackdown on Christians and other religious minorities, even imprisoning nursing mothers for practicing their faith, according to a new UN report. The March report provides a rare, detailed view into the shocking treatment of Christians in Iran, where American Pastor Saeed Abedini is serving an eight-year sentence for his alleged work with Christians. ‘The persecution of Christians has increased,’ said Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s expert on human rights in Iran.” Read more.

Flashback: Unable To Buy Or Sell: Iran Refusing Business License For Convert To Christianity, Orders Businesses Not To Employ Christians – “Iranian authorities refuse to allow a young man to start his own company because he converted to Christianity and was previously detained on charges of ‘apostasy’, or ‘abandoning Islam’, Iranian Christians said Saturday, July 14. The Iranian Christian, who was not identified, had reportedly been trying to obtain a business license for ‘a technical company’ in northern Iran… Outside prison, government offices are reportedly ordered not to employ Christians and Christians have been deprived from high school or university education, or running their own schools, according to Iranians with close knowledge about the situation.” Read more.