Indian Christian abducted in Libya

Tripoli, April 5, 2016: An Indian Christian, Reji Joseph, has reportedly gone missing in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Mr. Joseph, 43, has been working as an IT professional attached to the CRA (Civilian Registration Authority) in Libya. He is a native of Kozhikodu in Kerala State, India. He has not has been heard from for four days.

Reji’s friends and relatives suspect he and three others were abducted. According to information received by his relatives, a gang abducted them from their workplace in Tripoli.

Reji along with his family had moved to Libya two years ago. His wife Shinuja is serving as a nurse in Tripoli. Their three children are in Libya as well.

Reji serves as a voluntary minister with Bibles for Mideast.

Reji’s relatives are communicating with the Libyan authorities. They complain that his employer is reluctant to share sufficient details.

Please pray for Reji Joseph and his family.

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[July 6, 2016] UPDATE: REJI JOSEPH RESCUED!

Bedridden Arab Muslim woman healed by Jesus; she and her family now believe

Fadila (name changed for security reasons) grew up in an Arab family in the Middle East. She works in a government institution, and her father owns several farms and date plantations in the desert. One of eight children of her Muslim father and mother, she also has four half-siblings by her father’s second wife.

A strong devotee of Islam, Fadila always wore the abaya (a large, black cloak wrapped around her body), recited the required ritual prayers five times a day, fasted for the month of Ramadan, and gave the obligatory Zakat (alms to the poor).

One of her brothers, however, ended up running with the wrong crowd and became alcoholic and drug-addicted—despite Islam’s strict prohibitions against alcohol and drugs.

He’d sometimes become violent, she says, and would make up stories to get money from his parents to pay for his habits. They began fearing he would influence his other brothers to stray as well.

“So we lost our peace,” Fadila says. “We prayed and prayed for a change of my brother and peace at home. No answer we got.”

Her mother's strength and well-being began deteriorating, and family members began thinking the stress of her wayward son likely contributed to or even caused her health problems.

“Her condition became worse day by day,” Fadila remembers. “She consulted with many doctors, but nobody could diagnose the cause of her illness. She had a stroke too, and became completely bedridden.”

One day, another of her brothers brought two visitors to the house. He introduced them as “men of God who had gifts of healing. If they pray for our mother, she might be healed,” he added.

What could they lose? As other brothers and sisters showed interest, the men were given permission to pray.

“I felt uncomfortable,” Fadila recalls. “It was different than a Muslim du’a [personal supplications by Muslims beyond required formal prayers—Ed.] He was using Jesus’ name in his prayers. ‘In the Name of Jesus’ he prayed to heal my mother!” She figured out they were Christian pastors and, as she says, “shouted at them to get lost from my house.”

By then, though, they noticed their mother struggling to get up.

“We helped her, and she sat erect and then stood on the floor!” remembers Fadila with wonder.

“She told us that while the man was praying, she saw Jesus Christ and he touched her with his scarred hands. At once, she felt something go away from her body, and a light covered her, and she felt total healing!”

The mother then asked the men to forgive her daughter. And please, could they pray for her alcoholic son as well?

So one of the men prayed over Fadila’s alcoholic brother.  As he did, the brother fell to the floor at the man’s feet and began weeping. He promised to leave all his bad habits. Confessing his sins, he took the next step and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord!

“We noticed an unspeakable joy and peace in his face,” Fadila remembers vividly.

The men explained they were pastors with Bibles for Mideast. The one who had prayed for the alcoholic brother shared his own story of conversion from Islam, and explained more fully the message of the Gospel to the family gathered round.

“Jesus Christ was crucified, died and rose from the dead for all of our sins, to give us eternal life. Jesus paid the ransom for us,” the pastor made clear.

Fadila’s mother readily replied that she believed. Fadila and her other brothers and sisters followed suit. The pastor then presented the family with a bible.

Unfortunately, Fadila’s step-mother and half-siblings felt provoked by their family members leaving Islam.

“Sometimes they threaten us that they will inform the religious authorities,” she says. “If they do, certainly we will have to face persecutions.”

While her father now believes in Jesus Christ as well, out of fear of possible reprisal from the threats of his other wife, he keeps his faith quiet. The rest of the family read and meditate on the bible daily, and attend secret prayer and worship services organized by Bibles for Mideast.

Please keep this family in your prayers: that all will be saved and come to the glorious knowledge and freedom possible only in and with Christ!

EXCITING UPDATE TO THIS STORY:
Saved first from Islam, then by a giant bird of prey from Islamic extremists!

Jesus protects persecuted new convert from Islam by the 'power of His right hand'

Maheen* had always been an observant Muslim. When given a Bible by a team distributing them in his neighbourhood, he took one, brought it home, but never looked at it. Why should he? He had the Koran.

One night while he slept, he says an angel came to him and touched him on the shoulder.

“Read Acts 26:23 from the Holy Scripture which you received,” the angel told him. Whether a dream or a vision he wasn’t sure, but it certainly struck him as strange. Too tired to react otherwise, he fell back asleep.

A short while later, the angel touched his shoulder again, more firmly this time. “Get up and read Acts 26:23 from the bible you were given. It is a verse for you.”

Still groggy and half-asleep, Maheen had a hard time trying to process what was going on. So he decided to ignore the unusual occurrence again, and go back to sleep.

The angel appeared a third time, nudging him forcefully. “Get up and read the verses as I said!”

Maheen bolted out of bed, frantically grabbed his new bible, and began to read from the Book of Acts.

“That the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He should be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26:23)

The striking visitation, the power of God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit brought Maheen to his knees. He acknowledged his sins before God and accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord.

He became a strong believer in Jesus Christ. As much as he tried to convince his wife Muneera* of her need for salvation, of the importance of reading and meditating on the Bible, the Word of God—she would have none of it. Further complicating the situation were the attitudes of her brother Siddhiq*, an Islamic extremist working nearby in Saudi Arabia.

Maheen desperately wanted to be baptized, but waited months, hoping and praying his wife would join him in his new faith and be baptized with him. He finally decided to take the step alone.

When Muneera told her brother of the new development, he flew in immediately from Saudi Arabia. He implored Maheen to return to Islam, offering him an outstanding employment opportunity if he’d move to Saudi Arabia. He could even have an immense home and property as part of the deal.

"My Lord Jesus is far, far above any of the offers of this world,” Maheen replied. “I may be killed, but I will never deny Jesus, for He is my Lord and Savior, and granted me eternal life."

This infuriated Siddhiq. While his sister watched in horror, he joined with others he had traveled with and brutally beat Maheen. They then locked him in a dark room. For 17 days he remained locked away in darkness, without proper food or facilities, and unable even to see his wife.

Everyone felt sure Maheen would change his mind and come back to Islam. Instead, he grew stronger in his faith with each passing day. So they decided the only way to save Muneera from her husband would be to kill him.

She couldn’t believe it. How could her own brother, her own family, including her own father, even think of killing her husband? So she implored God, the Almighty, to intervene.

While praying, she had a vision of heaven and saw the Lord Jesus seated on the throne. And there was Maheen, her husband, at His right hand being held safe, praising Him along with the angels! While she couldn’t understand it, she could see human souls being washed by blood which flowed like a beautiful stream from the heart of Jesus.

When she tried to reach out to her husband, she couldn’t even get close. A huge gulf spanned the distance between them. Then she noticed a bridge in the shape of a cross over the gap, but when she tried to go towards it, it was taken back to heaven.  

Shaken to her core, Muneera began to weep. She took her own step of faith and accepted the Lord Jesus as her Savior. Who else could this be but the savior of humanity? She prayed that Maheen would not be harmed.

She then phoned the leader of the team who had been distributing the free bibles and holding the underground worship services Maheen had been attending. She explained to him all that had happened.

He explained that he too was a convert from Islam and often faced similar hardships. He arranged to visit the area, meeting up with a group of local believers first, all also converts from Islam. They prayed together, then met with a politician in the region. With his help they were able to secure the assistance of a senior police officer who freed Maheen from the dark room that had been his prison for over two weeks.

That same evening, a mob under Siddhiq’s leadership gathered with weapons to attack the church leader. A group of secret believers in Jesus heard of it and Immediately moved him to another house where the terrorists couldn’t find him. The prayers of the children of God certainly moved to save and protect Maheen as well as the Christian leader.

Maheen with bibles for distribution

Maheen and Muneera now have two children, a boy and a girl. They work with Bibles for Mideast, distributing bibles, Christian literature and helping establishing house churches in their area of the Middle East.

“It is a great task,” they explain. “We have to work very secretly. We worship secretly. We collect bibles for distribution also in a secret way. We are in need of support, but we don’t get it.”  Both retain secular jobs to earn enough for themselves and the work of their team. Please pray for them!

If you feel led to support the work of acquiring and distributing bibles and establishing house churches for new believers, please use the form here.

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* names changed for security reasons

Malaysian High Court: A Muslim has the right to embrace Christianity

Kuching, Malaysia: The Kuching High Court in Malaysia ruled Wednesday (Mar. 23) that a Muslim man who was converted to Islam by his parents at the age of 10 can legally renounce Islam and embrace Christianity. Justice Yew Jen Kie said that 41-year-old Rooney Rebit, formerly known as Azmi Mohamad Azam Shah may be identified as a Christian.

In making his decision, Yew cited Article 11 of the Malaysian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion. "It is within his constitutional rights to exercise freedom of religion," the judge said in the ruling.

The ruling comes after Rebit applied for a judicial review to allow him to obtain legal recognition as a Christian, not a Muslim. Yew issued multiple injunctions in the matter.

Rising Christian anger in mainly Muslim Malaysia over the government's handling of a case involving seized bibles could complicate Prime Minister Najib Razak's bid to win back the support of minorities ahead of an early general election.

The judge ordered the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department and the Sarawak Islamic Council to issue a letter signifying Rebit's release from Islam.

Bible in Malay

Additionally, she ordered the state government to ensure that Rebit's identification card and government records at the nation's registry show that he is a Christian and for his name to be legally changed to Rooney Anak Rebit.

Rebit, who is a part of the Bidayuh ethnicity, was forced to convert to Islam as a child after his parents converted from Christianity.

Since it was never Rebit's choice to embrace Islam, Yew stated that Rebit can't be considered a person who officially professed Islam. Additionally, the judge pointed out that Rebit was baptised as a Christian in 1999, when he was able to make a mature decision about his faith.

The state government had earlier refused to change his religious preference on his identification and government records without an order obtained from an Islamic court, even though the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department and the Sarawak Islamic Council agreed to issue a letter of ‘no objection’ to his conversion.

While Rebit was granted his request to be recognized as a Christian, Lina Joy was not as fortunate in 2007 when her appeal to a Malaysian federal court to have her official religion changed on her identification card was struck down. As apostasy laws in Malaysia are handled by state governments, each state has the freedom to apply the law as they see fit when residents renounce the Muslim faith.

Last May, the State Assembly of Kelantan considered a bill that would have allowed the death penalty to be given to anyone charged with abandoning Islam.

Muslim slaughter of Christians in Asia and the Middle East

PAKISTAN
1) A group of Muslim men went into a Christian district, abducted a 7- year-old boy, and took turns gang-raping him before finally strangling him to death with a rope. Locals found the child´s body the next day dumped in a field: "[T]he body was sent for post-mortem examination which revealed that the 7-year-old was killed after being brutally raped," a local said. "The suspects belonged to rich families and were drunk when they kidnapped the child, took him away and they raped him."
2) A week later, another group of reportedly "rich and drunk" Muslims in a car accosted three Christian girls walking home from work. They sexually harassed them, saying "Christian girls are only meant for one thing, the pleasure of Muslim men." When the girls tried to run away, the Muslims chased them down in their car and ran them over, killing one 17-year-old girl.
3) A Christian man was brutally tortured to death by police in an attempt to get him to confess to stealing from his Muslim employer. Khurram, the son of Liaqat Masih, the 47-year-old slain Christian, was also tortured by police for the same reason; he shared his eyewitness testimony of the beating his father endured before expiring. Police stripped him naked, made him stand on a chair, tied his hands behind his back, and hung him from the ceiling, causing Liaqat´s shoulders to become dislocated. Each time the captive´s feet hit the floor, a police officer would pull the rope to lift him up again and continued applying tension to his arms and dislocated shoulders. Because both Khurram and Liaqat adamantly maintained their innocence during the ordeal, the officers continued to beat his tied-up father with wooden logs until he eventually died. About an hour into the beating, the guards noticed that Liaqat was no longer breathing. The officers then released the tension on the rope and laid the father´s beaten body down in a pool of his own urine, said the son who watched. At the autopsy, doctors concluded that Liaqat died of a heart attack and failed to record the numerous injuries and bruises suffered during the beating.

BANGLADESH
ISIS claimed responsibility for the murder of an 85-year-old Muslim man for reportedly converting to Christianity. He was found lying in a coffin-like structure with blood on his chest. It is believed that he was stabbed to death while working at his homeopathic practice. According to the report, "Soldiers of the caliphate were able to eliminate the apostate, named ´Samir al-Din´, by stabbing him with a knife." Although al-Din´s son claims that his father never converted to Christianity and frequently prayed facing Mecca, One Way Church disagrees, stating that he was just "in a meeting of the church at Gopinathpur village on Jan 3" and that he had told others that his life was in danger. "The local church has shown us papers confirming his conversion to Christianity in 2001," said local police.

SYRIA
A bomb attack on a mostly Christian neighborhood killed three people and wounded 10 others, all Christians. The attack occurred on January 24 in the Kurdish city of Qamishli. While rumors began that ISIS was behind it, according to one Christian leader, "So many people think that behind the bombing there could also be Kurdish masterminds and executors. It is another disturbing factor of this war: there is terrorism, but sometimes we do not know who really terrifies us."

EGYPT  
"The tombs of the Copts [Egypt´s indigenous Christians] are being turned into garbage dumps." This was the message from Fr. Ayoub Yousef, who heads the Coptic Catholic church of St. George in the village of Dalga, in Minya, Upper Egypt. According to the priest, local Christian cemeteries are in a "piteous state," with all types of sewage and waste being dumped into them to the point of filling the tombs. He has filed numerous complaints with the prime minister and many other officials "to no avail, to the point that the situation has become unacceptable" and urged "immediate intervention."
Separately, during a televised Egyptian talk show that aired January 18, Ahmed ´Abdu Maher, a lawyer, denounced Al-Azhar, the Islamic world´s oldest and most prestigious university, for continuing to radicalize its students. By way of example, he said: "There is a book in Al-Azhar that calls for the forceful shaving of the heads of the Copts, placing a sign on their homes [so Muslims know where the ´infidels´ live], and refusing to shake hands with them." As it happens, the Islamic State and similar Muslim groups all make it a point not to shake hands with "unclean" Christians (one Egyptian cleric said he finds Christians utterly "disgusting") and that Christian homes should be distinguished with signs, as ISIS did when it placed the Arabic "N" (nun) letter on their homes in Mosul and elsewhere. Even forced head-shaving is being practiced. Back in 2013, jihadi groups in Libya abducted around 100 Copts and abused them— including shaving their heads.

TURKEY
Out of almost two million Syrian refugees within Turkey´s borders, 45,000 are Christian and are finding that "life is only slightly better at best." Many have to pretend to be Muslims in public in order to avoid being attacked. They restrict their Christian worship to the privacy of their tents and homes.
According to the report, another group of refugees in Turkey that was attacked is the Armenians. Zadig Kucuk reportedly found his 85-year-old mother murdered in December 2012, even though she was living in a large Armenian community in Istanbul. When her body was found, a large cross had been carved into her chest. There have also been incidences of refugees being beheaded.

IRAN 
Instead of receiving much needed medical treatment, a Christian prisoner was instead given five additional years in prison. Ebrahim Firouzi was first arrested by agents of the Islamic Republic in 2013. He was later condemned by a court of law to one year in prison and two years´ exile. After his sentence ended, Firouzi was kept in prison when new charges of "acting against national security" were levied against him. He remains in prison even though he has been suffering acute pain in the left side of his chest for over a year, and his condition has continued to deteriorate in the last three months.

KAZAKHSTAN
After he appealed the decision, a court in Astana, the nation´s capital, increased the sentence originally handed to Yklas Kabduakasov, a convert from Islam, from seven years’ house arrest to two years’ hard labor in a prison camp. The father of eight was arrested last year on charges of "inciting religious hatred." He was convicted last November and allowed to go home to begin his seven years of house arrest. Local Christians believe the real reason behind the arrest of Yklas Kabduakasov is his conversion from Islam to Christianity and that he was sharing his Christian faith with Muslims.

MALI
A Swiss Christian missionary abducted for ten days in 2012 has been kidnapped again in Timbuktu. On January 8, Beatrice Stockly, a woman in her 40s, was taken from her home before dawn by armed men who arrived in four pickup trucks. Militant Islamic groups are active in the area in which she lives and had launched two attacks in the previous weeks, one of them on a Christian radio station just before Christmas, which left 25 people dead. In 2012, when the jihadis ruled the area, they outlawed the practice of Christianity and desecrated and looted churches and other places of worship.

KUWAIT
Lawmaker Ahmad Al-Azemi said that he and other MPs will reject an initially-approved request to build churches because it "contradicts Islamic sharia laws." He added that Islamic scholars are unanimous in banning the building of non-Muslim places of worship in the Arabian Peninsula.

GERMANY
Hegumen Daniil, Father Superior of St. George the Victorious Monastery in Gotschendorf and a member of the Integration Committee at the German Federal Chancellery wrote In a letter to the Federal Minister of Germany for Special Affairs:
”Christian refugees from Syria, Eritrea, and other countries are exposed to humiliation, manhunts, and brutal harassment at the camps for refugees by their Muslim neighbors. This also relates to the Yazidi religious minority. The cases when humiliation turns to injuries and death threats are frequent. …. According to the Islamic tradition, they [former Muslims, who are at special risk] should be punished, because they moved away from Islam. They are exposed to great pressure and are afraid for their lives, because ‘renegades’ lose any right to it as far as radical Muslims are concerned. Many Christians who came from the Middle East are suffering from such great harassment that they want to return home, because their situation there seems to them to be a lesser evil as compared with the circumstances in the German refugee accommodation centers.”

INDIA
Pastor Sumati Prakash was badly beaten and his hands and legs broken on March 23, 2016. He was attacked by 25-30 people including the Sarpanch. He pastors a church in Sabli village in Doongerpur, Rajasthan.