MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Morning Star News – “In Mubi in northeastern Nigeria, Christians do not dare step out of their homes after 8 p.m., church leaders say. And many Christians are too afraid of Islamic extremist attacks to attend church services.

This month suspected members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram killed eight members of a Church of the Brethren (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, or EYN) congregation outside Mubi, among others – the latest in a series of attacks in or near the town in Adamawa state bordering Cameroon.

‘The crisis has created a lot of hardship for Christians, as even movement to eke out a living is restricted,’ said the Rev. Daniel Yumuna, a district secretary of the EYN. ‘Businesses of our church members have all collapsed because they face attacks regularly, and living generally has been made very difficult here not only for our church members but for all other Christians in this part of the country.’

The EYN church at Samunaka, on the outskirts of Mubi, was targeted on Feb. 1 and Feb. 4 in attacks on the area that killed at least 15 people; besides the eight Christians killed and one church member wounded by gunshot, according to church leaders, the church building and pastor’s office went up in flames, as did some Christian-owned homes. Two other EYN churches were burned down in Huwim, in Mussa District, on Feb. 2, and in Bita, in Gavva West district, on Feb. 3.

Among the dead from the attack on the Samunaka church, according to Yumuna, were Danjuma Garba, Ezra Kwada, Friday Toma, Kwasini Iliya and two children of Drami Tizhe.

‘In the town of Mubi, Christians are even afraid of going to the market to buy food and other sundry items they need to survive,’ Yumuna said.

Christians from EYN churches in other parts of Adamawa state – Song, Hong, Yola, and Maiha – have also been displaced, he said.

Military authorities in Nigeria say Boko Haram, which has its headquarters in neighboring Borno state, is responsible for the attacks on Christians in Mubi. The Islamic extremist group seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout the country.” Read more.

Flashback: Boko Haram: Our Goal is to Eliminate Followers of Christ – “Terrorist organisation Boko Haram has issued a statement making clear that its goal is to eliminate followers of Christ from Nigeria and establish an Islamic state. ‘The Nigerian state and Christians are our enemies and we will be launching attacks on the Nigerian state and its security apparatus as well as churches until we achieve our goal of establishing an Islamic state in place of the secular state … We are responsible for the suicide attack on a church in Jos and also another attack on another church in Biu,’ a spokesman for the group, Abul Qaqa, is said to have told reporters in the northeastern city of Maiduguri over the phone.” Read more.

Morning Star News – “Suspected Islamic extremists in Somalia shot a Christian to death this month on the outskirts of the coastal city of Kismayo, sources said.

Two masked men killed Ahmed Ali Jimale, a 42-year-old father of four, on Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. as he stood outside his house in Alanley village, near a police station, they said. The killers were suspected to be members of the Islamic extremist Al Shabaab, a rebel militia ousted from the area four months ago but still engaging in hit-and-run tactics. A few of the four rival clans in Kismayo, 328 miles southwest of Mogadishu, are said to be housing members of Al Shabaab.

A businessman, teacher and medical consultant well-known in the area, Jimale ran a pharmacy in Kismayo. He would give private lessons on medicine and first aid, and as an underground Christian – as are all Christians in Somalia – he highlighted the teaching with discussions comparing the Bible and the Koran, sources said.

The students would share these lessons with other children, and this teaching, along with his close work with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that provides aid, appeared to have caught the attention of the Al Shabaab extremists, said a source who worked with Jimale but is no longer in the area.

When the Somali National Army and the Kenya Defense Forces wrested control of Kismayo from Al Shabaab, Jimale became increasingly open in presenting the religious content of his teaching, and the Islamic extremists suspected he was a Christian – and guilty of ‘apostasy’ or leaving Islam, on the common assumption that all Somalis are born Muslim, the source said.

Toward the end of 2012, Jimale began receiving threatening messages in his phone, sources said.

‘We have been monitoring your activities,’ read one. ‘You have to stop introducing the children to foreign Christian religion as well as your close working relation with a foreign organization, otherwise we shall come for your head.'” Read more.

Flashback: Somalia: Muslims Gather To Watch Convert To Christianity Beheaded By Al-Shabaab Islamists – “Islamic extremists from Somalia’s rebel Al-Shabaab militants on Friday (Nov. 16) killed a Christian in Somalia’s coastal city of Barawa, accusing him of being a spy and leaving Islam, Christian and Muslim witnesses said. The extremists beheaded 25-year-old Farhan Haji Mose after monitoring his movements for six months, Christian sources said… A crowd assembled in the coastal city on Friday morning to watch the slaughter of Mose…” Read more.

Flashback: Al-Shabaab Vows To Continue Killing Those Who Do Not Worship Allah – “Somalia militia group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s twin attacks on two churches in Garissa County that left 17 people dead… An Al-Shabaab loyalist Sheikh Hassan Takar said that the militia killed people who did not profess allegiance to Allah. ‘The mujahedeen (holy warriors) punished with their hands those believing and worshipping other than Allah,’ he said. ‘The militants will continue until such practice is eliminated.’ He added” Read more.

Bukhari, Volume 9, #17, “Allah’s Messenger said, ‘The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Messenger, cannot be shed except in three cases: in Qisas (equality in punishment) for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (Apostate) and leaves the Muslims.‘”

And many Muslims today are adding a fourth reason: not being “serious” enough about the Muslim faith …

StarTribune – “LUXOR, Egypt – Dozens of Muslim residents threw firebombs and rocks at police on Friday as they tried to storm a church in southern Egypt in search of a woman suspected of converting to Christianity, security officials said…

Officials said 11 policemen were wounded in the clashes in the town of Kom Ombo, which is near Aswan High Dam, about 980 kilometers (608 miles) south of Cairo. Coptic Christian activist Ibrahim Louis said 12 Christians also were wounded, including one man who was in serious condition.

The fighting erupted late Thursday night when hundreds of Muslim residents tried to get inside the church. Police used tear gas to keep the crowd from storming the church as some of the residents burnt tires along a major highway and cut off traffic. The clashes erupted again Friday afternoon when dozens of residents again threw firebombs and rocks at police. In anticipation of renewed clashes, police had set up checkpoints and increased their presence around the church.

Tensions rose after a 36 year-old Muslim woman, who has been missing for five days, was allegedly seen outside the church with a female Christian friend on Thursday. Some residents believe the woman, who is a teacher, converted to Christianity and is hiding inside the church.” Read more.

Flashback: A Growing Number of Muslims Convert to Christianity After Visions of Jesus in Their Dreams (Video)

Qur’an Sura 9:14, “Fight them [non-Muslims], Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace …”

The title of the YouTube posting says, “More Than 100 Egyptian Preachers of Christianity Arrested in Libya”, so this could only be a portion of all those detained as it appears to be a few dozen in this particular video. Judging from the video itself they’ve also managed to seize Bibles, Christian books, photos of Christ, photos of Christian leaders, and crosses. Of course, the video of this triumphant subjugation of Christians by Islamists would not be complete without the obligatory battle cry of victory: “Allahu akbar! [Allah is greater!]”. Tip of the hat to Walid Shoebat …

Flashback: Situation Critical: Muslim Fundamentalists Driving Christians From Libya – “Christians are being driven out of the eastern Libya area of Cyrenaica by Muslim fundamentalists …  Islamic fundamentalism now governs decisions in Libya. Before the overthrow of Gadaffi about 3% of Libyans were Christians but many hard-line Islamists were active in the battle against Gadaffi. Now in many areas they wield considerable power. Only a few thousand Christians now remain in Libya and many of them are expatriates.” Read more.

Flashback: Libya: Foreigners Arrested In Benghazi On Suspicion Of Being Missionaries, Spreading Christianity – “Four foreigners have been arrested in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on suspicion of being Christian missionaries and printing books about Christianity, a security official said on Saturday… ‘Proselytizing is forbidden in Libya. We are a 100 percent Muslim country …'” Read more.

1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Morning Star News – “Mohammed Khidir Khalil Hassan, a Sudanese convert from Islam, has to be careful what songs he sings to his sons.

Nearly a year ago, after his wife left him and Christianity behind, a Sudanese court had ruled that as a convert from Islam he was forbidden to see his children, then ages 3 and 5. An appeals court overturned the ruling last October and allowed him visits, but he knows any pretext could be used to keep him from them.

During one recent visit, one of the boys asked him to sing a Christian praise song entitled ‘Hosanna,’ but he refrained – knowing his ex-wife and her Muslim family could use that as evidence that he was trying to convert the children to Christianity and automatically cancel his visitation rights.

‘I see no freedom at all,’ he said, pointing out that his ex-wife and her mother closely monitor his visits. ‘Such a system needs to be confronted. We have to decide to work for change in Sudan.’

A Sudanese court had ruled in March 2012 that his wife, as a member of ‘the popular religion,’ be awarded custody of the children. His wife had presented a copy of a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees certificate showing Khalil’s testimony as a Christian, as they had obtained asylum in Egypt from religious persecution in Sudan. The certificate was proof enough for a Sudanese judge to rule that the marriage be annulled and the children handed over to the spouse professing Islam.

The ruling perhaps reflects the prevailing anti-Christianity hostility in the air since South Sudan seceded in July 2011. Harassment, violence and arrests of Christians have intensified since largely Christian South Sudan seceded and President Omar al-Bashir vowed to root the country more deeply in sharia (Islamic law).

Hassan now visits the boys twice a month, Friday and Saturday of the first and second week for four hours each.” Read more.

Flashback: Sudan Imam: ‘We Will Never Forgive Christians For Not Being Muslims’, Suggests That Christianity Must Be Eliminated Throughout The North – “… Muslims vie to take school land and anti-Christian messages emanate from a nearby mosque loudspeaker on most Fridays. Muslim leaders have been asserting through the mosque loudspeaker that Christian institutions should not be permitted in Sudan, as the country should be a ‘purely Islamic state’ since the secession of South Sudan on July 9, 2011, he said. ‘We are expecting the level of persecution to rise in Sudan in the coming days,’ a pastor who works at the Bible school told Morning Star News by phone, adding that hostilities against churches and Christians were intensifying.” Read more.

Morning Star News – “Having deported scores of foreign Christians and demolished several church buildings in the past few months, Sudan continued ridding the country of Christianity this week by raiding Christian bookshops in Khartoum and arresting Christians, sources said.

Men who described themselves as agents of Khartoum State Security on Monday (Feb. 18) confiscated books, films and archives from the Evangelical Literature Centre, part of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) denominational headquarters, church leaders said.

‘They took everything – not a single sheet of paper was left on the shelves,’ said one church leader. ‘They took the cinema, old movies and tapes and archives. They filled a big truck with our stuff from the ELC.’

When SPEC leaders asked the security agents why they were taking the items away, they replied that they had ‘orders from above’ to confiscate all Christian books, the church leaders said. The clergymen said they understood this to mean the government intends to make Sudan a solely Islamic country.

In the course of the raid, security personnel beat a church leader for taking photos, sources said. The following day (Feb. 19), national security agents arrested the church leader, whose name is withheld, and his whereabouts remained unknown at press time, a pastor told Morning Star News.

Prior to the raid, authorities of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in Khartoum state sent a letter to SPEC leaders informing them of their plan to search the premises for Christian literature, according to the church leaders. They described the move as unlawful and unacceptable.

Security agents later confiscated two containers full of Christian books and Bibles at the SPEC headquarters adjoining the Evangelical Literature Centre, sources said.

Church leaders hope to meet with an official from the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment about the raid. SPEC officials have decided to hold regular prayer meetings at the depleted Evangelical Literature Center.

‘We continue to pray for God to strengthen our faith in these difficult times,’ a church leader told Morning Star News by phone.” Read more.

Flashback: Sudan Imam: ‘We Will Never Forgive Christians For Not Being Muslims’, Suggests That Christianity Must Be Eliminated Throughout The North – “… Muslims vie to take school land and anti-Christian messages emanate from a nearby mosque loudspeaker on most Fridays. Muslim leaders have been asserting through the mosque loudspeaker that Christian institutions should not be permitted in Sudan, as the country should be a ‘purely Islamic state’ since the secession of South Sudan on July 9, 2011, he said. ‘We are expecting the level of persecution to rise in Sudan in the coming days,’ a pastor who works at the Bible school told Morning Star News by phone, adding that hostilities against churches and Christians were intensifying.” Read more.

Flashback: North Sudan: President Al-Bashir Moves Forward with Rewriting the Country’s Constitution to Implement Sharia Law – “Sudanese leader Omer Hassan Al-Bashir is moving forward with rewriting the country’s constitution to implement Shariah law, according to reports from organizations with links inside the Muslim-dominated nation… a Shariah-compliant constitution will mean more suffering for Sudan’s remaining Christians. ‘This new law (Shariah compliant constitution) is going to affect a significant number of Christians who live in places like Khartoum (the capital city). There are still a significant number of Christians in Sudan,’ Racho said.” Read more.

“But,” the pastor continues, “they will never get this from me.” This is the type of faith that we as brothers and sisters in Christ must be ready to reflect, they who will overcome the evil of this Beast by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, loving not their lives even unto death …

Matthew 16:24-25, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'”

Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

By Lisa Daftari, Fox News – “American pastor Saeed Abedini, jailed in a notoriously brutal Iranian prison for his Christian faith, is facing physical and psychological torture at the hands of captors demanding he renounce his beliefs, according to supporters.

The 32-year-old married father of two, who left his home in Boise, Idaho, to help start an orphanage in his latest country, detailed ‘horrific pressures’ and ‘death threats,’ is a letter to family members, according to his U.S.-based attorneys.

‘My eyes get blurry, my body does not have the strength to walk, and my steps become very weak and shaky,’ read the letter, sneaked out of Evin prison in Tehran. ‘They are only waiting for one thing…for me to deny Christ. But they will never get this from me.’

Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison for threatening the national security of Iran through his leadership in Christian house churches. The American Center for Law and Justice has provided legal support for Abedini’s family in the U.S. and is working through various government means to help win the pastor’s release. ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow said the fact that the torture is happening after Abedini’s trial, a sham he and his attorney were not even allowed to attend, is particularly chilling.

‘This is post conviction,’ Sekulow said. ‘This isn’t about a trial. This is about life, and the message is you will be treated this way until you become a Muslim.'” Read more.

Flashback: Iran: Authorities Launch Mass Arrests Of Christians, Men And Women Dragged To Prisons All Across Iran – “Massive arrests of evangelical Protestant Christians, including many former Muslims, are reported in Iran, with men and women being dragged to prisons across the Islamic nation. ‘We have learned that at least 100, but perhaps as many as 400 people, have been detained over the last 10 days,’ said Firouz Khandjani, a council member of the ‘Church of Iran’ house church movement.” Read more.

Flashback: Iran: Islamic Republic 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 the move is part if a wider government crackdown on non-Islamic minority groups, especially Christian converts, in society… 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 …” Read more.

For peaceful purposes …

BFM (Translated) – “A 24-year-old Moroccan has been arrested in Strasbourg, suspected of having damaged statues in a church and of having placed a prayer carpet and a Qur’an stolen from a mosque [inside the church].

Taken into custody on Thursday, the suspect confessed and will be subjected to a psychiatric examination. According to the priest of the church in question, located in the centre of Strasbourg, he ‘probably’ has psychological problems.

The man is suspected of having toppled around 15 statues. ‘He wrote ‘Allahu akbar’ [Allah is greater] in Arabic with chalk, especially on the statues, and placed a Qur’an on a pulpit,’ said the priest.

The man was exposed by officials of the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg, who noticed that on several occasions he had stolen objects from the mosque, including the imam’s prayer carpet, said one of the leaders of the mosque.” Source –  BFM (Translated).

• Flashback: The Islamization Of France In 2012
• Flashback: France Seeks To Reclaim Muslim ‘No-Go’ Zones
• Flachback: France Sees ‘Shocking Surge’ in Anti-Semitic Violence
• Flashback: Imams’ Indoctrinating French Muslims With Culture Of Hate, Racism
• Flashback: France: Muslim Mobs Burn Nearly 1,200 Cars On New Year’s Eve
• Flashback: France: Christian Church Vandalised With Graffiti Saying ‘Islam Is Growing In Power’

Daniel 7:25a, “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law …”

By Raymond Ibrahim, Frontpage Mag – “Four foreign Christians—including one who holds American-Swedish citizenship—were arrested days ago in Libya.  According to the Guardian, their crime is arousing ‘suspicion of being missionaries and distributing Christian literature, a charge that could carry the death penalty.’

Apparently the four Christians had ‘contracted a local printer to produce pamphlets explaining Christianity.’  Proselytizing to Muslims—that is, preaching to them another religion—was banned even under the late Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyans—strongly supported by U.S. President Obama in the name of ‘freedom’—got rid of Gaddafi but kept the distinctly anti-freedom law.

Discussing this case, Libyan security official Hussein Bin Hmeid, trying to justify the Islamic ban on free speech, observes: ‘Proselytizing is forbidden in Libya. We are a 100% Muslim country and this kind of action affects our national security.’ Indeed, Muslim governments—most notably Iran’s—constantly suppress any talk of Christianity, claiming it threatens ‘our national security.’ Such is the tribal mentality of Islam which everywhere declares: If you’re not one of us, you must be an enemy trying to subvert our way of life.

Is the flipside of this prevalent mentality also true—that if Muslims are not one of us, they must be trying to subvert our way of life?

Nor should the arrested Christians expect much sympathy from more ‘moderate’ Libyans.  According to Benghazi lawyer and ‘human rights activist’ Bilal Bettamer, Christians should not offend Muslims by trying to share their faith: ‘It is disrespectful. If we had Christianity we could have dialogue, but you can’t just spread Christianity.  The maximum penalty is the death penalty. It’s a dangerous thing to do.’

Indeed, like ‘blasphemy’—whether in the guise of Muhammad cartoons or movies—proselytizing to Muslims is one of the many forms of free speech to be specifically banned by Islamic Sharia.  According to Muslim tradition, this ban goes Read more…