MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“ISTANBUL, April 21 (CDN) — A father and daughter who fled Egypt to Syria after spending two and a half years in hiding for becoming Christians have arrived in France and yesterday applied for asylum there, human rights advocates said.

Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, 58, had become the target of Islamic ill will in Egypt after he tried to change the religious affiliation on his national identification card from Muslim to Christian. He and his daughter, 17-year-old Dina Mo’otahssem, arrived in Paris from Syria on March 30 after having fled to Damascus on Feb. 22 in the wake of the revolution in Egypt that deposed then-President Hosni Mubarak.”  Read more.

“Hany was born in 1985 to a Christian family that lives way below the poverty line in a very small village in upper Egypt that does not appear on any of the Egyptian maps.  Hany grew up as a Christian.  Like all youth, he had dreams of completing his military service, working to support himself, marrying a young lady from his village and having a family of his own.  But the dream was interrupted by the unexpected during his military service…”

“NAIROBI, Kenya, April 20 (CDN) — Two Muslim extremists in Somalia on Monday (April 18) murdered a member of a secret Christian community in Lower Shabele region as part of a campaign to rid the country of Christianity, sources said.

An area source told Compass two al Shabaab militants shot 21-year-old Hassan Adawe Adan in Shalambod town after entering his house at 7:30 p.m.

‘Two al Shabaab members dragged him out of his house, and after 10 minutes they fired several shots on him,’ said an area source who requested anonymity. “He then died immediately.”

The militants then shouted ‘Allahu Akbar [God is greater]’ before fleeing, he said.”  Read more.

By Jawad Mazhar – “LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) — Another Pakistani Christian leader, along with his family, is among the growing number of Christians who are being subjected to death threats from Islamic extremists.

This was revealed to ASSIST News Service by the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), an interdenominational organisations working for Christians who are being persecuted because of their faith in Pakistan.

They are Pastor Javaid Austin, aged 60, a resident of Lahore and the father of three sons, Azeem, aged 26, Waseem Javaid, aged 24, and 23-year-old Naeem Javaid, and married to Rubina Javaid, are all under potential death threats by suspected Islamists.

Azeem, Waseem and Naeem, have completed their seminary studies with the Assemblies of God in Lahore, so they cane become pastors, and are actively involved in church activities along with their father.

Pastor Austin is chairman and a founding member of the Light of the City Church in Lahore, and has been an active member of the Pakistan Christian Welfare Council (PCWC) for the past 20 years.

He has his own catering business called the Sunny Tent Service in the locality through which he is nourishing his family. PCWC works with disabled children and is helping poor and needy Christian children with their studies.

On Thursday, April 7, 2011, the pastor went to the CLAAS office and told Mr. Joseph Francis, chairman of CLAAS Pakistan, that he had received death threats by unknown Muslim extremists. He the told his story saying that he used to conduct healing prayers and crusades in his church for disabled and sick people, and that not only Christians, but also Muslims, attended the prayer meetings ‘to be healed from their diseases.’

He informed CLAAS that, back in 2003, a disabled Muslim man who lived in another area of Lahore, met with the pastor and requested for him to pray for him. He then attended a prayer meeting and appeared to be very joyful with being prayed for.

Pastor Austin said, ‘He was very happy and satisfied and praised God, our Lord, and started attending regularly the prayer meetings.’

When the man saw that God was working in his life, he donated some land for the poor and needy people which included land where a church could be built and, at the same location, a Christian school could also be constructed.” Read more.