MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“Washington — International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that an Algerian Christian was sentenced to five years imprisonment for blasphemy in Oran on Wednesday after sharing his Christian faith with a neighbor. The verdict came days after authorities forced the permanent closure of seven Protestant churches in Algeria’s Béjaia province.

Siagh Krimo was charged by the Criminal Court of the Djamel District in Oran, who based their decision on Article 144 bis 2 of the Penal Code which criminalizes acts that ‘insult the prophet and any of the messengers of God, or denigrate the creed and precepts of Islam, whether by writing, drawing, declaration, or any other means.’ Krimo has ten days to appeal the sentence.” Read more.

“(ANSAmed) – ALGIERS, MAY 24 – A new clampdown on Christian protestants in Algeria. The Algerian ‘wilaya’ (province) of Bejaia has ordered 7 places of worship of this religious group to be closed. The measure, el Watan reports on its website, was issued on May 8. It was made executive on the 22nd and announced yesterday. Sources in the Vatican nunciature in Algiers have told ANSAmed that Catholic churches are not affected by the measure, and that the measure does not regard national territory. Mustapha Krim, president of the Protestant Church in Algeria, has appealed against the measure, which speaks in general terms of the closing of places of worship ‘for religious worship other than the Islam’. Krim has said that he has visited the Ministry of Religious Affairs in an attempt to postpone the implementation of the measure. He underlined that he has not been informed about it in time. Protestants, a rapidly growing movement in Algeria, has been targeted for several years by the Islamic religious authorities and civilians. The government accuses the Protestants of proselytism, a serious crime in a country where Islam is the State religion and Muslims are not allowed to convert to other religions.” Read more.

“Amid the upheavals in Egypt since January, reports have begun to emerge of a surge in disappearances of Coptic girls.

One priest in Cairo estimates that at least 21 young girls, many as young as 14, have disappeared from his parish alone.

In most cases, when a Christian girl who disappears is found by her family, she has been converted to Islam and married. The Coptic authorities, have even set up a series of refuges in monasteries to handle the growing numbers of girls who wish to return to their families, many of whom are not accepted by their family of origin.

But a worse problem for these women is that their conversion to Islam is irreversible.

Religion is stated on Egyptian ID documents and even though secular law provides for reversions, under the growth of sharia they are very difficult, except for those affording legal advocacy.

This situation is not unique to Egypt. There have been consistent reports of girls being coerced into Islamic conversion and marriage in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.” Read more.

Welcome to the sweet smell of grass and the blooming flowers of an Arab Spring.  Welcome to Barack Obama’s vision of the Middle East …

“(AINA) — On the morning of May 19 two Coptic priests went to St. Mary and St. Abraham Church in Ain Shams and opened it together with some of the Coptic residents, but later in the day thousands of Muslims surrounded the church to protest its opening, hurled stones at the church building and the Copts, who responded by throwing stones. The army and the police stood there watching and did not intervene.

Unable to secure the church, the army and police closed it and arranged for a ‘reconciliation’ meeting between the Coptic priest and the Salafi sheikhs. They also arrested eight Copts, one of them 13-years old, and three Muslims. They were all charged with rioting, violence and causing injury to citizens. Three Copts were also charged with having cartridges but no guns and one 15-year-old boy with possessing two knives. The 3 Muslims were charged with throwing stones at the army.” Read more.

By Jibran Khan – “Lahore (AsiaNews) – A 24-year Christian woman from southern Punjab was abducted by a Muslim man who, after forcing her to convert to Islam, also forced her to marry him. Although her family filed a formal report of kidnapping, the police did not act immediately, either to stop the abduction or to arrest the culprits. Likewise, her family has gone to court to get her released to no avail; the young student nurse remains in fact in the hands of her kidnappers. This, according to a local priest, is part of an ‘alarming’ trend in anti-Christian violence. He is, to put it mildly, ‘disappointed by the behaviour of local authorities’. A human rights activist confirms that the region of Pakistan where the woman lives is a ‘safe haven for extremists’ who perpetrate abuses and kidnappings ‘with total impunity’.”  Read more.