MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Pakistan Christian Post – “Today dated 27 January 2013, Mr. Shamoun Patras with some other Christians of Phool Nagar came to LEAD’s office and told to Chief of LEAD Mr. Sardar Mushtaq Gill the incidence that happened with Patras, his family and other Christians of the area.

Mr. Patras is working as stitch operator in a Factory, on Eid-Ul-Muladul Nabi he was on holiday and he was at home with his family members. Some Muslims men, who are drug sellers, passing in front of his door at near about 5:30 PM evening .They opened fire at his door and when he came out from his house to see what happened. He was also fired at by them and he ran away from the site for saving his life.

Mr. Patras told this incident to other Christians. Some Christians thought that they should tell the other respectable Muslims and their parents so that they would stop them to doing such dangerous activities. Mr. Patras along with some other Christians went to some respectable Muslims, those Muslims again opened fire at all of them and made them forced to stand in a row. They also threatened that if any one of you would submit any application against them in police station, they will kill him. They also threatened by saying ‘you are Christians insects and have no power to do anything against us’, and ‘you are slaves and trivial and tiny before us’ and ‘we will burn your houses and church’ told Mr. Patras.

Some other Christians told that they were under threats and pressure of such drug sellers. They also told that they always remained under pressure and fear that how their honor and belonging would be saved from such dangerous persons.

‘There were already many criminal cases against them and they did not care about such cases and what will be benefit if I will submit an application in Police station against them’ told Mr. Patras. He also added that he was worried about his new generation. Some Christians told that such incidences often happened with them and they had no way how to avoid from such things. They also told that they were not safe in Pakistan and their honors and belongings were also not safe.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Worrisome’: The Role of Drug Trafficking in Promoting and Financing Today’s Global Terrorism – “Speaking at a recent conference in Istanbul, ‘The Role of Drug Trafficking in Promoting and Financing Today’s Global Terrorism,’ jointly organized by Turkey, the United States and Colombia, UNODC Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer Irka Kuleshnyk said that ‘While it is difficult to establish how widely terrorist groups are involved in the illicit drug trade, or the breadth and nature of cooperation between these two criminal groups, the magnitude of the numbers involved make the relationship worrisome.’ According to the UNODC’s World Drug Report 2007, the total potential value of Afghanistan’s 2006 opium harvest accruiing to farmers, laboratory owners and Afghan traffickers reached about $US3.1 billion.” Read more.

By MidEast Christian News – “An armed Islamic movement calling itself the ‘Brigade of Muslims’ released a statement on Saturday threatening Egypt’s Coptic Christians and asking them to pay tribute.

‘Egypt is an Islamic country and will be ruled according to Shariah,’ the statement added.

The movement threatened all Egyptian media professionals who ‘mock religion and Islamic rule,’ adding that it has a special list of media professionals and their persistence in mocking will result in the ‘shedding of their blood in the ugliest way.’

The movement explained that it has been established because of the strife being plotted against the country and the plans of enemies of Islam, both at home and abroad.

The movement accused Copts of trying to create a ‘separate Coptic state,’ accused the National Salvation Front of involvement in the burning of Egypt, and accused the so-called corrupt media of distorting the image of Muslims and Islamic rule.

The movement noted its approach is jihad, and it would fight the Egyptian army and Interior Ministry if they do not stand up to ‘Copts and their helpers.’

‘Let the unbelievers and the hypocrites know we are as keen on dying for the sake of God as they are keen on life,’ the movement confirmed.” Source – CP Africa.

Flashback: Egypt: Rising Islamic Leader Declares ‘We Will Launch a Campaign of Islamic Conquest Throughout the World’, ‘Exterminate’ Christians Who Get In the Way of Sharia – “A rising leader in the radical Islamic movement in Egypt that has become a major political player since the demise of Hosni Mubarak’s regime says Christian churches may need to be blown up and Christians exterminated to allow the advance of Islamic law, or Shariah. The comments come from Sheik ‘Adel Shehato, a senior leader with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist group… The sheik, a senior jihadist leader, responded to a question about using violence against Christians, who make up a substantial minority in Egypt.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Cleric Issues New Fatwa To 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.’” Read more.

By Perry Chiaramonte, Fox News, AP – “Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, an American imprisoned in Iran on charges of evangelizing, was sentenced this morning to eight years in prison.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice, Abedini was verbally sentenced in Tehran by Judge Pir-Abassi, known as the ‘hanging judge,’ to eight years in prison for threatening the national security of Iran through his leadership in Christian house churches. He will serve the time in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, known as one of the most brutal.

The evidence, the ACLJ reports, was based on Abedini’s activities primarily during the early 2000s, when house churches were not considered a threat in Iran.

‘This is a real travesty – a mockery of justice,’ Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ, who represents Pastor Saeed’s wife and children living in the U.S., said in a statement. ‘From the very beginning, Iranian authorities have lied about all aspects of this case, even releasing rumors of his expected release. Iran has not only abused its own laws, it has trampled on the fundamentals of human rights. We call on the citizens of the world to rise up in protest. We call on governments around the world to stand and defend Pastor Saeed.’

Although the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said in a statement Sunday the administration is ‘deeply disappointed that Saeed Abedini has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran on a charge related to his religious beliefs.

‘We condemn Iran’s continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the Iranian authorities to release Mr. Abedini.’

Meehan added that the State Department remains in close contact with Abedini.

The State Department also called for Abedini’s release.

‘Mr. Abedini’s attorney had only one day (January 21) to present his defense, so we remain deeply concerned about the fairness and transparency of Mr. Abedini’s trial,’ spokesman Darby Holladay said in a statement.

Iran’s state news agency reported last Monday that Abedini, who was born in Iran but now lives in Idaho, would soon be free. But the report, which came on the first day of Abedini’s trial, was seen by Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh, as just another cruel manipulation.

‘This is all a lie by the Iranian media,” Naghmeh Abedini said. “This has been a repeated promise by the Iranian regime since Saeed was first thrown in prison on Sept. 26, 2012. We have presented bail. After the judge told Saeed’s lawyer that bail was back on the table, the family in Tehran ran around in circles today to make sure Saeed was let out on bail. But again the bail officer rejected bail.'” Read more.

AsiaNews – “More attacks against the Coptic minority in Upper Egypt. A thousand Muslims attacked the predominantly Christian village of el-Marashda (province of Quena, Upper Egypt). Incited by outside religious authorities, extremists burned down homes and shops and tried to demolish the local church. The attack, which took place yesterday, was interrupted by the arrival of the police, who arrested 10 Muslims. Since yesterday evening, a crowd of radical Islamic have blocked access to the city, to prevent the police from taking those arrested away. The police responded by firing tear gas. For safety, the authorities ordered the Christian population not to leave their homes and the local parish has cancelled the celebrations for the Coptic Orthodox epiphany. In solidarity with Christian community, the Imam of the village calls on Muslim youth to protect Christian shops.

Anba Kyrollos, Coptic Orthodox bishop of Nag Hammadi, said the group of extremists, including many Salafis, attacked the village in revenge for a Christian accused of abusing a Muslim girl of 6. The rumors about the pedophilia case had emerged in recent days, sparking tension between the two communities, but police investigations have cleared the man. The girl did not suffer any kind of violence. The Salafis have attacked the Christian village all the same, in spite of outcome of the inquiry.

Local sources say that the representatives of the Christian and Muslim communities, met this morning for a reconciliation. However, the police continue to patrol the town for fear of attacks.

Yesterday’s was the second attack in less than a week.” Read more.

Egypt: Muslim Mobs Burn Down Christian Stores In Southern Egypt – “Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters outside a church in southern Egypt Friday. The demonstrators were demanding an investigation into allegations that a Christian man sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl… The clashes took place in the village of Marashda in Qena province. Residents said protesters threw stones at the local church after midday Friday Islamic prayers.” Read more.

Egypt: Thousands Of Muslims Shouting ‘Allah Is Greater’ Destroy Christian Social Services Building Fearing It Would Become A Church – “… Mosques in surrounding villages called on their microphones this afternoon on Muslims to go and help their Muslim brethrens in the village of Fanous, because Christians were ‘building a church.’ According to rights activist Nader Shukry of Maspero Coptic Youth Organizations, nearly 5000 Muslims took part in demolishing the church property with their hammers, while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’ He said no one was arrested, not even the imams who called on Muslims to demolish the building; their calls fall under the crime of ‘enticement to violence.’” Read more.

Muslim authorities who insist on Islamic teachings for Muslim students shouldn’t be allowing Muslims to attend Christian schools. It seems to me that they’re allowing this, however, for the express purpose of raising the issue of “regional bylaws” in an effort to rid Indonesia of Christianity one school (and one church) at a time …

By Mathias Hariyadi, AsiaNews – “Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Municipal authorities in Blitar, a town in East Java province, are threatening to shut down six Catholic schools ‘by 19 January’ if the latter do not provide Islamic courses and readings of the Qur’an to their Muslim students, in accordance with regional bylaw n. 8 of 2012, which requires all Muslim students to receive Islamic courses in school. The latter is based on a national law, the National Education Act n. 55 of 2007.

The six Catholic schools at risk are the Diponegoro Catholic High School, the Catholic Vocational Training High School, Saint Mary KG, Saint Mary Elementary School, and Yos Sudarso Catholic Elementary and Yos Sudarso Catholic Junior High School.

The schools received the municipal injunction in the final days of 2012, but their administrators have refused to comply with the directive by 19 January, this according to the head of the local department of the Religious Affairs Ministry.

So far, school administrators have not released any official statement on the matter because of the sensitive nature of the issue. Before expressing any opinion, they are set to take part in meetings with Catholic leaders.

Sources within the schools note however that Muslim students and their families had accepted their teaching programmes ‘without complaining.’ No one has ever ‘objected on religious grounds’.

In fact, it has been a long established practice that Indonesia’s private Christian schools, including those run by the Catholic Church, are not required to offer courses on Islam or readings of the Qur’an as in public schools. Instead, they provide courses and seminars on Christianity and catechism.

Muslim students who attend these schools can for their part take courses on Islam sponsored by their respective Muslim group.” Source – AsiaNews.

Flashback: Massive Increase of Radical Islamism Spreads Throughout Indonesia, Including ‘Top-Quality’ Universities – “The suicide bombing of a church in Central Java on Sept. 25 pointed not only to a new level of attacks on religious minorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country but to a political bent that accommodates Islamist extremism. ‘Radicalization of Islamic teachings and understanding is a problem in Indonesia,’ admitted Dr. H. Nasaruddin Umar …” Read more.

AINA – “Hundreds of Muslims came out of mosques today with hammers and destroyed a social services building belonging to the Coptic Church while chanting Islamic slogans. Security forces arrived after the building was completely razed. The 100 square meters social services building in the village of Fanous, Tamia district in Fayoum province, 130 KM south west of Cairo, had all the necessary government permits; it had a reception hall on the first floor and a kindergarten on the second.

But the Muslims insisted that it would become a church.

A meeting had taken place beforehand between the village mayor and elders from Muslim and Coptic sides and it was agreed that only the first floor was to remain and the second be demolished.

Mosques in surrounding villages called on their microphones this afternoon on Muslims to go and help their Muslim brethrens in the village of Fanous, because Christians were ‘building a church.’ According to rights activist Nader Shukry of Maspero Coptic Youth Organizations, nearly 5000 Muslims took part in demolishing the church property with their hammers, while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’ He said no one was arrested, not even the imams who called on Muslims to demolish the building; their calls fall under the crime of ‘enticement to violence.’

The district of Tamia and neighboring Senousen is home to a large congregation of Islamists. Shoukry said that the Coptic Church had previously warned the security authorities of the danger of the Islamists provoking sedition in Tamia and neighboring areas.

A witness from Fanous village said they were working on the building site, which had started two months ago, removing the wood which was intended for the second floor when a Muslim man started insulting the Copts, then they were assaulted by the village women. The mob of Muslim men followed with their attack saying that the whole building has to be demolished. He said that the Muslim elders pretended to be peacemakers, but to no avail. ‘The Muslims with their hammers and spare pipes were demolishing also the walls of the ground floor, leaving nothing standing,’ said the witness. The village mayor and Muslim elders made excuses for not honoring their agreement of leaving the ground floor intact by saying the ‘youth take unreasonable actions.'” Read more.

Mohabat News – “According to CP , In his letter, written from the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran and addressed to his wife Naghmeh, the 32-year-old pastor said he was uncertain about his fate.

‘This is the process in my life today: one day I am told I will be freed and allowed to see my kids on Christmas (which was a lie) and the next day I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus,’ Abedini wrote. ‘One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy.’

However, the pastor sees God’s hand in the midst of persecution. ‘I always wanted God to make me a godly man. I did not realize that in order to become a godly man we need to become like steel under pressure. It is a hard process of warm and cold to make steel,’ he said, referring to the mixed responses he is receiving in prison. ‘These hot and colds only make you a man of steel for moving forward in expanding His Kingdom.’

Abedini’s letter, which has been posted on the website of Assemblies of God USA, also speaks about torture.

‘When for 120 days you are asleep in a room with one big light that is constantly lit and does not separate day or night and when you can only see true sunlight for a few minutes a week, that’s when you are becoming His Workmanship and you can be a vessel in bringing His Kingdom in a dark place and you are able to share the Gospel of Peace and Life to the dying world,’ wrote the pastor ‘in chains for our Lord Jesus Christ.’ ‘And this is where you learn you can love your enemies with all of your heart.’

The American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing Abedini’s family in the U.S., has also said the pastor’s life is ‘in grave danger,’ as he is facing one of Iran’s notorious ‘hanging judges,’ Pir-Abassi, known for issuing death sentences.

‘And now facing one of Iran’s most notorious judges, Pastor Saeed is in a real sense an American abandoned in Iran. The U.S. State Department has done very little to help this U.S. citizen,’ ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow said in a report shared with The Christian Post. ‘When you read Pastor Saeed’s own words, you understand that Iran has absolutely no regard for human rights and religious freedom.’

Abedini’s case has been transferred to Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, and he is now in the hands of Judge Pir-Abassi, who was named in 2011 by the European Union as an individual subject to sanctions for human rights violations. The judge has reportedly presided over a number of cases against human rights activists, often handing down long prison sentences and even several death penalties.

Despite the hardships he is facing, Abedini remains strong in his faith.

‘Saeed’s letter is nothing short of a modern-day Pauline epistle,’ AG General Superintendent George O. Wood said on the church’s website. ‘As I read his letter through several times, I could only marvel at how God’s faithfulness transcends time as the same Holy Spirit that was with Paul in his times of desperation is fully evident in the words of our brother Saeed.'” Read more.

AsiaNews – “The criminal court of Beni Suef (115 km south of Cairo) has sentenced an entire family to prison for converting to Christianity. Nadia Mohamed Ali and her children Mohab, Maged, Sherif, Amira, Amir, and Nancy Ahmed Mohamed abdel-Wahab will spend 15 years in prison. Seven other people involved in the case were sentenced to five years in prison.

The case of the family of Nadia Ali Mohamed began in 2004 when, after the conversion, she and her children decided to replace their Muslim names on their identity cards with their Christian names and city of residence change. To do this she was aided by seven Registry office employees e. Born Christian, she had changed her religion to marry her husband Mustafa Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. After the man’s death in 1991, Nadia decided to return to her religion of origins and to push her seven children to convert. In 2006, one of the boys was arrested by police in an information center in the city of Beni Suef. Suspicious of the young man from the documents he as carrying, where he had changed its name to Bishoy Malak Abdel-Massih, police agents interrogated him for hours until he confessed his conversion to Christianity as desired by the mother. The judges then decide to stop not only the woman, but all of her children and seven clerks from the registration office, responsible for changing the documents.

An individuals religious faith is listed in Egyptian identity cards. Christians, converted to Islam for various reasons that attempt to return to the religion to which they belong have enormous difficulty in correcting their names on the documents. This leads many people to forge them, risking prison. The reverse process, ie the transition from Christianity to Islam is not hindered, and in many cases is favored by the very Registry officials.” Source – AsiaNews.

Flashback: Egypt: Islamist Group Forbids Eating Tomatoes Because They Are ‘Christian’ – “‘Allah’ — the alleged creator of all things in Islam — creating food with crosses, not to mention ‘Zionist’ snowflakes? Oh, the humanity! I wonder how they feel about the fact that the universe itself exists as a ‘Trinity’ of time, space and matter, which are themselves comprised of past-present-future, length-width-depth, and solid-liquid-gas? Will they begin forbidding any discussion about the nature of the universe due to the fact that it was created as ‘Trinities within a Trinity’?” Read more.

Flashback: Egyptian Sheikh: Chevrolet’s Logo Resembles Christian Cross, Issues Fatwa Forbidding Muslims from Buying or Driving Chevys – “If the ‘Cross of Chevrolet’ had anything to do with Christianity, then General Motors wouldn’t have needed to be saved by the Federal Government. After all, the Cross is the only thing that can bail us out. No word yet on whether or not a fatwa will be issued against Mercedes-Benz for being pro-Trinitarian. In the meantime, maybe the Sheikh will recommend a Lamborghini for all Muslims. He obviously has no problem with that logo …” Read more.

“The worst sin and distraction from virtue that I have left for man is woman” – Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, Sahih AlBukhari, 5096

“When I stood on the door of hell, I saw most of its inhabitants were women” – Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, Sahih AlBukhari, 5196

By Yasmine Saleh and Shaimaa Fayed, Reuters – “Many Egyptian viewers were horrified when preacher Hisham el-Ashry recently popped up on primetime television to say women must cover up for their own protection and advocated the introduction of religious police.

That an obscure preacher could get publicity for such views was seen as another example of the confused political scene in Egypt since the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak gave birth to a cacophony of feuding voices.

‘I was once asked: If I came to power, would I let Christian women remain unveiled? And I said: If they want to get raped on the streets, then they can,’ Ashry told Nahar TV last week.

Introducing a Saudi-style anti-vice police force to enforce Islamic law was ‘not a bad thing’, he said, and added: ‘In order for Egypt to become fully Islamic, alcohol must be banned and all women must be covered.’ …

With the economic downturn and rising food prices putting pressure on the government, moderate Muslims, Christians and others worry their new-found political freedom is at risk of being exploited by hardline Islamists bent on imposing their values on a society that has been traditionally moderate.” Read more.

Flashback: Canada: Muslim Cleric Wants To Force All Women In Toronto To Wear Burkas, Head Scarves And Face Veils – “But don’t worry, this enlightened Muslim cleric only wants all non-Muslim women to dress like Muslim women because he cares so much for their safety.  Indeed, nothing shows you care more for the inferior sex than blaming them for being sexually assaulted. Because they’re asking for it, right? Besides, if Muslim men are unable to control sexual temptation, then neither can all non-Muslim men, correct? After all, the prophet of Islam said it, so it has to be true. But here’s an idea: Instead of forcing all non-Muslim women to conform to a Muslim dress code, how about we just force all Muslim men to stay indoors? Wouldn’t women then be much, much safer?” Read more.

Flashback: Top 10 Qur’an Quotes Every Woman Must See – “Islam in its purest form honors and elevates women, we are often told. But does it? All too often, textual reality (the Quran) matches up with the historical reality of seventh—century Arabia. Gender inequality and oppression in the Quran reflect the culture of seventh century desert nomads. If Allah and Muhammad improved on this patriarchy, then they did not go far enough for a religion with a claim to universality. Here are the top ten rules in the Quran that oppress and insult women.” Read more.

Flashback: Iran’s Religious Police: Uncovered Female Hair Releases Mind-Controlling ‘Sex Rays’ – “In recent weeks, 53 coffee shops and 87 restaurants have been closed in Tehran for serving customers with improper hijab or for other gender-related offenses … Iran’s sex cops have this weird belief that uncovered hair releases ‘sex rays’ that drive men wild. One of the strange beliefs of the Islamic religious bigots is that men are not responsible for their conduct when it comes to an impulse to make a sexual assault.” Read more.