Saudi Arabia Sentences Men to Prison, Lashings for Role in Woman’s Conversion to Christianity

 

5/14/2013 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) -International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that two men accused of helping a young woman flee Saudi Arabia after her conversion to Christianity were sentenced to prison terms and lashes with a whip by a Saudi court on Sunday. The case comes weeks after an independent U.S. government advisory body listed Saudi Arabia among the top violators of religious freedom.

A Lebanese Christian man was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes and a Saudi man was sentenced to two years and 200 lashes by a court in Khobar, a city in eastern Saudi Arabia, for their involvement in a Saudi woman's conversion to Christianity and her escape abroad, Reuters reported. The men, who worked with the young woman known as Maryam at an insurance company, were arrested last July after a complaint was filed by her father. Maryam fled to Sweden several months ago and is reportedly applying for asylum.

The case began when Maryam appeared on a YouTube video last July announcing her conversion to Christianity, which "created a stir in the Kingdom," the Saudi Gazette reported. Maryam said she was "raised to hate Judaism and Christianity but fell in love with the religions after she found peace in Christianity," the English-language daily reported in July. Maryam embraced Christianity after hearing God tell her in a dream that Jesus is His son, according to the Gazette.

Abandoning Islam, also known as apostasy, and proselytizing are illegal under Saudi law. Judges have authority to determine the offender's punishment in accordance to their interpretation of the Kingdom's Sharia code of Islamic law, which permits the death penalty for apostates. Hmood al-Khalidi, the lawyer representing Maryam's family, expressed satisfaction with the men's severe verdict(Keep Reading).

Attacks against Christians in Iraq ongoing

This is a nightmare to me.

4/24/2013 Iraq (Christian Today) – Islamist extremists want Iraq to be a "Muslim only" country. As a result, Christians in Iraq remain continuous targets of violent attacks. Each month Open Doors field workers receive sad phone calls and emails of Christian acquaintances who report attacks against the Christians near them. While most of them are part of the general violence, such as bomb attacks and mortar fire which intensified during provincial elections last Saturday, a part of the violence can be labelled as specifically targeted against Christians.

"If these attacks take place in a Christian neighbourhood or a Christian village, you can assume they are targeted, especially against the Christian population of the neighbourhoods and villages," said an Open Doors field worker.

"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein 10 years ago, an estimated 1,000 Christians have been killed, a relatively high number compared with percentages killed from other groups in Iraqi society."

A Christian in Mosul was the target of two attacks in one week last March. After the first bomb exploded in his house on a Wednesday, a second one was thrown over his fence on Sunday. The Christian saw two young men running away. The second bomb, wrapped in a black bag and a women's t-shirt, was deactivated by a military engineering team(Source).

American Pastor Imprisoned in Iran Thrown Into Solitary Confinement

This isn't good. This is not good at all.

4/29/2013 Iran (Fox News) – The American pastor jailed in Iran for his faith has been placed in solitary confinement and may now be suffering organ failure, according to family members in Iran who are increasingly alarmed at his deteriorating health.

Saeed Abedini, the 32-year-old Christian and American citizen who is serving an eight-year prison term in Iran, was put in solitary confinement following a “peaceful, silent protest” in an outside courtyard at Iran’s notoriously brutal Evin prison, according to family members. Conditions at the prison prompted Abedini and other prisoners to sign a petition decrying the lack of medical care and the threats and harsh treatment facing family members who come to visit. The protest angered prison officials who retaliated by placing Abedini and nine others in solitary confinement.

“Saeed had previously told his family that when he was in solitary confinement in the past, that was the hardest time in his life. That every hour was like one year and that he was losing his memory and his health was deteriorating quickly,” said his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, who is at the family's home in Idaho with their two young children.

“We believe that he is being beaten in solitary confinement. We have no way of finding out about his health. There will be no more visitations allowed and we will have no way of knowing how Saeed is doing,” she said.

Abedini has been suffering for months from serious injuries that have not yet been treated, including severe internal bleeding from beatings at the prison, according to supporters. Now there's concern that his kidneys are no longer operating properly(Source).

Derek Minor fka Pro- Never Back Down

Another song related to persecution. It is amazing. Listen to it for yourself.

“Boston Like” Terrorist Attacks a Daily Experience for Christians in Nigeria

And for this reason they will constantly be in my prayers.

     

4/28/2013 Nigeria (Christian Post) - The Boston Marathon bombings last week shocked America and served as a reminder that the threat of terrorism in the western world is still alive. While offering condolences to the victims, one group is pointing out that Nigerian Christians face such horrors every week in the face of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

In an open letter to the American people this week, the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN) wrote, "The evil of terrorism in today's world are now well-known and so too must be the demand of vigilance in the overall protection of the common good."
Laolu Akande, executive director of CANAN, is urging Americans to help protect Christians who are regularly attacked in Nigeria.

"We want fellow Christians in America to rise up in the face of the innocent Nigerian Christians who are the main target of Boko Haram," he said.

"These people are doing whatever they like, they have gone out of control, they are threatening the very peace and security of Nigeria, and that of the region," he told The Christian Post in a phone interview on Thursday.

"They have turned Christians into a group of sitting ducks. This is why we want American Christians to rise up and support our association, because we have decided to be the voice of the voiceless. We want American Christians to help us carry our message to the U.S. Congress and get the government to do what is right, which is to designate Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization."

Boko Haram, the shadowy terrorist group in Nigeria, has killed close to 3,000 people in the last few years in the African country. The victims have been primarily Christians as the terrorist group seeks to drive them out of the country and declare Islamic control. It has bombed churches and government buildings, shot down congregations, killed pastors, and rejected a proposed amnesty agreement from the government to stop the attacks.

Despite all this, the U.S. government has failed to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist group, even though it admits specific members of the organization are terrorists.

"How can you say that Osama bin Laden is a terrorist, but al-Qaida the organization is not?" Akande told CP. "The only reason why the State Department does not want to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization is for political reasons. It flies in the face of logic to say that three leaders in the group are terrorists but the group itself is not a terrorist organization(Keep Reading)."

Derek Minor fka Pro's song- Drink from His cup

This is a song which is related to the persecution of our brethren in Christ. It is really good. I hope you all enjoy it.

Christian Mother Separated From Children and Killed in Somalia

This can't be good at all.

         

4/29/2013 Somalia (BosNewsLife) - Christians in Somalia feared more violence Monday, April 29, after Islamic militants reportedly killed the widow of a Christian who was slain for his faith in December, leaving the couple’s five children orphaned.

Fighters of the Islamic al-Shabab group shot 42-year-old Fartun Omar to death on April 13 in Buulodbarde, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the central Somalian city of Beledweyne, local Radio Shebelle reported. The militants had been searching for her for several months, as they knew that she was a secret Christian, the network said.

Due to the threat of persecution, Omar on April 10 decided to leave Beledweyne by bus with another neighbor to seek refuge with relatives, Christian news agency Morning Star News reported.
On reaching Buulobarde, which is controlled by al-Shabab, militants at a roadblock allegedly ordered passengers to disembark and questioned them one by one, locals said.
"Unfortunately, she was not cleared by the al-Shabab,” explained a neighbor who accompanied her. “I only heard one of them saying, ‘This is the woman whose husband was killed last year. Do not let her in.’"

CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND
The other passengers were allowed to board again, and the bus left, with Omar’s neighbor suddenly responsible for caring for her children. The oldest is a 15-year-old girl.
“On April 13, I received news from Beledweyne that a woman in Buulobarde had been killed by the Al-Shabab,” the neighbor said. “Soon I found out that it was Fartun Omar.”

Locals said Omar was found dead on the outskirts of Buulobarde with bullet wounds to her right side. “The children are in safe hands, and I am trying to look for some of the relatives of Omar,” the neighbor was quoted as saying. “The only problem that I am experiencing at the moment is that the small children are crying for their mother.”

It comes amid concerns about the whereabouts of another Christian convert who was captured and reportedly tortured by Islamic militants in Somalia remained missing amid fears he may have died.
Four fighters of al-Shabab abducted Hassan Gulled, 25, on March 23, after monitoring him for several weeks, local Christians said. He was thought to be held at an al-Shabab base in Bulo Marer, Somalia(Source).