MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Mary Abdelmassih – “(AINA) — A Muslim mob attacked Copts today in the Upper Egyptian village of Rahmaniya-Kebly, Nag Hammadi, Qena province, destroying and torching their homes, straw huts and shops, while chanting Allahu Akbar. No one was reported killed or injured (video). According to reports, security forces were present but did not intervene and the fire brigade arrived 90 minutes late.

An eye-witness said that a straw hut belonging to a Copt was torched to clear the area for a mosque. There are more than 300 mosques in the village and one church.

According to Coptic residents, the reason behind the violence was the parliamentary elections. The Salafists wanted to prevent Copts, who number more than 50% of the inhabitants (20,000), from voting because they intended to vote for two moderate Muslims and not the Salafi candidates. ‘No Copt from Rahmaniya-Kebly was able to vote today, so the Salafists will win the elections,’ said a witness. Copts were forcefully prevented from voting.

US-based WAY TV, which covered live today’s Rahmaniya attacks, called commander Osama, head of security at Rahmaniya, who said ‘everything was OK’ — despite live pictures on TV of the burning homes. Joseph Nasralla of WAY TV spoke to security and made them aware that the videos of the fires were being broadcast in the U.S. and Middle East, which caused the immediate dispatch of security vehicles. By late evening the violence had stopped.

In another incident today, a large number of Salafis and members of the Muslim Brotherhood entered the Abu Makka church, in Bahteem, Shubra-el-Khayma, Qaliubia province, and informed the congregation that the church has no licence and no one should pray in it. One Muslim said the 1300 square meter church would be suitable for a mosque and a hospital.” Read more.

“The Christian community in Syria has been hit by a series of kidnappings and brutal murders; 100 Christians have now been killed since the anti-government unrest began.

A reliable source in the country, who cannot be identified for their own safety, told Barnabas Aid that children were being especially targeted by the kidnappers, who, if they do not receive the ransom demanded, kill the victim.

And the source provided detailed information – some of which cannot be made public for security reasons – about incidents that have taken place since Christmas. Two Christian men, one aged 28, the other a 37-year-old father with a pregnant wife, were kidnapped by the rebels in separate incidents and later found dead; the first was found hanged with numerous injuries, the second was cut into pieces and thrown in a river. Four more have been abducted, and their captors are threatening to kill them too.

On 15 January two Christians were killed as they waited for bread at a bakery. Another Christian, aged 40 with two young children, was shot dead by three armed attackers while he was driving a vehicle.

These latest reports are reminiscent of the anti-Christian attacks that have become commonplace in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion, and heighten concerns about the future for Christians in Syria as the anti-government protests there continue.

SYRIA PIVOTAL IN REGIONAL POWER BATTLE

Several expert commentators are calling into question the narrative being spread by Western media about the nature of the unrest in Syria. They argue that it is not merely an internal conflict between the government and the rebels but has become an Read more…

“KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 18 (CDN) — Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide their names and contact information, Christian sources said.

The warning in a Jan. 3 letter to church leaders of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) arrived a few days after Sudan President Omar al-Bashir told cheering crowds on Jan. 3 that, following the secession of largely non-Islamic south Sudan last July, the country’s constitution will be more deeply entrenched in sharia (Islamic law).

‘We will take legal procedures against pastors who are involved in preaching or evangelistic activities,’ Hamid Yousif Adam, undersecretary of the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, wrote to the church leaders. ‘We have all legal rights to take them to court.’

Sources said the order was aimed at oppressing Christians amid growing hostilities toward Christianity.

‘This is a critical situation faced by our church in Sudan,’ said the Rev. Yousif Matar, secretary general of the SPEC.

Another church leader said the order was another in a series of measures by the government to control churches.

‘They do not want pastors from South Sudan to carry on any church activities or mission work in Sudan,’ he said.

Sudanese law prohibits missionaries from evangelizing, and converting from Islam to another religion is punishable by imprisonment or death in Sudan, though previously such laws were not strictly enforced. The government has never carried out a death sentence for apostasy, according to the U.S. State Department’s latest International Religious Freedom Report.

Christians are facing growing threats from both Muslim communities and Islamist government officials who have long wanted to rid Sudan of Christianity, Christian leaders told Compass. They said Christianity is now regarded as a foreign religion following the departure of 350,000 people, most of them Christians, to South Sudan following the July 9, 2011 secession.” Read more.

By Vincent Ekhoragbon – “A cleric, Pastor Yahaya Abdu of Baptist Church, Bajoga in Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State, has been found dead near his house.

It was learnt that the body of the preacher was found on Sunday, with his throat slit open.

Police spokesman Ahmed Mohammed, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said there was no clue yet on the cleric’s assailants.

He said the police were investigating the matter and would make public their report on it and other recent killings in the state.

Mohammed called for calm among the residents, saying the police would end criminality in the state.

Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chair, Rev. Abare Kalla said he received the news with sadness, adding that he would establish what happened and how it happened.

He urged Christians to remain calm and steadfast in their prayers to God to reveal those behind the killing.” Source – The Nation.

And I guess it would be when you’re own top “security” officer is unable — or unwilling — to keep Islamist killers locked up …

By Charlie Butts – “Another religious persecution watchdog group is drawing attention to the dangerous situation in Nigeria.

There has been a spike in violence against Christians in Nigeria and a terrorist group called Boko Haram is taking credit. International Christian Concern spokesman Jonathan Racho points out that more than 80 Christians have been martyred in the north in the past few weeks.

‘The Christian leaders in Nigeria are expressing their concern that these killings could amount to religious cleansing,’ says Racho. ‘They are calling for help. They are calling for prayers.’

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed concern in a recent statement that it is nearly impossible to protect Christians.

‘He said there are people within this government branch who sympathize with Boko Haram — Islamic radicals — and he was talking about how the situation is really complicated because of that,’ says the ICC spokesman. ‘You have a situation where the government is divided now.’

President Jonathan is Christian — and while the south is predominantly Christian, the north is mostly Muslim. Boko Haram has set a deadline for Christians in the north to leave that part of the country, convert to Islam, or die.

International Christian Concern says the potential danger to Christians is so serious that perhaps Nigeria should seek outside assistance and expertise in order to prevent genocide.” Source – One News Now.

Top Nigerian cop suspended over suspected sect member escape – “Nigerian authorities on Tuesday suspended a top police officer for alleged negligence in the escape of a suspected member of the Islamist Boko Haram sect arrested over a deadly Christmas bomb attack. The principal suspect, Kabiru Sokoto, who was arrested on Saturday, was handed over to a police commissioner for further investigation. He was then ordered to be taken to Abaji, near Abuja, for further investigation, police said in a statement. ‘In the course of undertaking this important procedure, the policemen on escorts with the suspect were attacked by the suspected sect gang members and in the process the suspect was freed,’ it said. ‘The police view this development as a serious negligence on the part of the commissioner of police and have since queried and suspended him from duty,’ it added.” Read more.

Luke 21:16-17, “You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me.”

“BWERA, Uganda, January 17 (CDN) — A 15-year-old Christian girl in western Uganda who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps.

Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother.

In March 2010, Susan had trusted Christ for her salvation – prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. Pastor Joseph Baluku of Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese said neighbors who discovered that the girl was locked in a room with almost no food or water notified authorities.

After her release, they took her to a hospital on Sept. 6, 2010. She would not be discharged from hospital care until Oct. 19, 2011.

After Compass published her ordeal on Aug. 11, 2011, several individuals and ministries came forward to help her… She now lives in a rented house in an undisclosed location.” Read more.

By Rabia Ali – “KARACHI: A group of people praying in a mosque were so irked by the voices of children singing carols at a nearby church that they decided to silence them—by attacking their house of worship.

On Saturday evening, four men attacked the Philadelphia Pentecostal Church in New Mianwali Colony in Manghopir.

A young boy, Samson, was standing outside the church as his friends sang carols on the microphone inside. The children were preparing for mass to be celebrated the next day which was a Sunday. The loud cheers became terrified whimpers when suddenly four men, one of them with an axe, barged into the church.

The men slapped the children, wrecked the furniture, smashed the microphone on to the floor and kicked the altar. ‘You are disturbing our prayers. We can’t pray properly. How dare you use the mike and speakers?’ Samson quoted, the men as saying.

The commotion inside the church made Samson call out for help. Three men ran away but one was caught by the residents who beat him up before the police reached the spot.

The incident is now a week old, but the attack frightened the community so much that all of the nine churches in the area were locked up.

‘The day after the attack people did not come for mass,’ said Lubna, the daughter of Pastor Daniel. ‘They came to our home to ask about what happened but did not go to church.’ The pastor was away.” Read more.

By Simba Tian – “NAIROBI, Kenya – Far from the world media’s gaze in remote islands off the eastern coast of Africa, church buildings are razed and Christians are ostracized and imprisoned for their faith – leaving one with a skin disease.

On Tanzania’s island of Zanzibar, in one week-long stretch last month Muslim extremists destroyed two church buildings, Christian leaders said. The extremists torched the building of the Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa in Mtufani Mwera, about 12 kilometers (seven miles) from Zanzibar town, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3, said Pastor Julius Makoho. Damages were estimated at 1.5 million Tanzania shillings (US$9,350).

‘When I arrived at the scene of incident Sunday morning, I found that the church had been reduced to ashes, with bottles seen close by that could be petrol or paraffin that could have been used for the burning of the church building,’ Pastor Makoho said.

As the assailants fled, said one church member who requested anonymity, ‘I heard them shouting, ‘We do not want a church in this area!’’

To date no arrests have being made.

Daniel Kwilembe, bishop of the 80-member church, said authorities on the predominantly Muslim archipelago tend to take no action in crimes against Christians. Bishop Fabian Obedi of the Pentecostal Evangelical Church of Zanzibar concurred.

‘The Muslims are burning our church buildings quite frequently here in Zanzibar, but the government is not speaking against this kind of destruction of our church premises,’ Bishop Obedi said.

The previous week in Kianga, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from Zanzibar town, a throng of Islamic extremists demolished Siloam Church’s building. Pastor Boniface Kaliabukama said that more than 100 Muslim extremists arrived at the church compound on Nov. 26 chanting ‘Allahu Akbar [[Allah] is greater].’

‘The security guard got scared of the mob and fled for his life,’ Pastor Kaliabukama said.

The assailants entered the church building with clubs, hammers, torches and swords, tearing it down in about three hours, the pastor said.” Read more.

Revelation 6:10, “… ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'”

“KANO, (AFP) – Suspected members of Islamist group Boko Haram on Wednesday shot dead four Christians who were believed to be fleeing violence-torn Maiduguri, residents said.

‘Their car had just pulled up at a filling station outside the town to refuel when suspected Boko Haram gunmen in another car also pulled up and opened fire on the Igbos, killing them on the spot,’ said a resident of the city of Potiskum who sells groceries nearby.

Members of the Igbo ethnic group are overwhelmingly Christian and generally originate from the country’s east. The attack occurred on the outskirts of Potiskum.

‘The car the victims were travelling in was stuffed with bags and other personal effects and it was clear they were heading for the east,’ the resident said.

They were thought to be traveling from Maiduguri, a city wracked by violence blamed on Boko Haram.

Another resident gave a similar account. Police confirmed the attack, but said the victims’ ethnic group was unknown as was the identity of the gunmen.

Recent religious violence, most of it blamed on Boko Haram, has sparked fears of a wider religious conflict and talk of the possibility of civil.” Source – Vanguard.