MEXICO – Evangelicals told to 'leave town or die'

A very interesting post from www.releaseinternational.org about discrimination in Mexico. This follows this post about Mexican Independence Day, during which you might hear the "Grito." This follows this article about  American energy independence and preventing money from going to hostile countries such as Iran and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and read this very interesting book HERE!

MEXICO – Evangelicals told to 'leave town or die'




About 70 evangelical Christians have been forced to leave their homes in Puebla state after other townsfolk threatened to 'crucify or lynch' them if they stayed.



The evangelicals from San Rafael Tlanalapan were forced out last Monday, effectively expelled by the town's majority who follow a blend of indigenous and traditional Catholic rituals.



Compass Direct news agency reports that the traditionalist townsfolk cited a 20-year-old diktat that only Catholic places of worship were permitted in San Rafael Tlanalapan, which is about 60 miles from Mexico City. The evangelicals have never been allowed to build a church.



Animosity against the evangelicals has been building for years. In 2006, they appealed for government help after their water supply was cut off.



Things came to a head on September 4 when a local priest reportedly instructed his church to put pressure on the evangelicals to leave for good. Three days later, a town chief met with the evangelicals. About 200 traditionalists also attended the meeting and threatened to attack them and their property.



It was agreed that the evangelicals would leave on September 12. Most have sought refuge in nearby towns. Some have reportedly sought sanctuary in a church.



Religious rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that officials in San Jose de Axuxco, also in Puebla state, have recently cut off water supplies to members of a Baptist church after they refused to make financial contributions to a Catholic festival.



The Mexican constitution grants indigenous communities some autonomy to exercise traditional law – to protect indigenous customs. However, Compass Direct reports that some lawyers claim local authorities sometimes misuse this legislation to violate minorities' religious rights.



Conflict between traditionalists and other religious minorities such as evangelicals has occurred in other Mexican states, most noticeably Chiapas. ASSIST News Service points out that this most recent example differs in so far as it has occurred in central Mexico, not a remote rural area. Evangelicals account for more than 8 per cent of Mexico's population, according to Operation World.



NEWS UPDATE:

Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who has been given the death sentence for 'apostasy', returns to court this Sunday (September 25) for a judicial review of his case (Prayer Alert, July 1, 2011). Pastor Yousef, a father-of-two from Rasht, was sentenced to death in September 2010 – but the Supreme Court recently referred his case back to the Revolutionary Tribunal of Gilan, specifically to verify whether he was previously a practising Muslim. Pastor Yousef claims that, although he was raised in a Muslim home, he was never a Muslim by choice – so he should not be regarded as an apostate.



For a country profile and news stories about Iran, go to: http://www.releaseinternational.org/pages/country-profiles/iran.php



(Sources: ASSIST News Service, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Compass Direct, Middle East Concern, Operation World)



• Ask God to comfort and provide for the evangelicals expelled from San Rafael Tlanalapan. Ask Him to guide and prosper them.

• Pray for a change of heart among traditionalists and their leaders. Pray that they will see God in all His glory and experience His love and grace.

• Pray for justice for Yousef Nadarkhani, that the death sentence will be revoked and that he will be released.

NIGERIA – Churches on high alert amid rising extremist threat

A very interesting post from http://www.releaseinternational.org/ about tensions in Nigeria. This follows this post about Hugo Chavez. This follows this previous post about him consolidating his power.This follows this article about the recent news about the former ban on offshore drilling which would encourage American energy independence and prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran   and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and read this very interesting book HERE!

NIGERIA – Churches on high alert amid rising extremist threat




Christians are fleeing the northern city of Maiduguri amid threats of further, larger-scale attacks by Islamist extremists.



Most churches in the Borno state capital have been boarded up and are under police or military guard as rumours spread that Boko Haram militants are planning a 'massive attack' at the end of the month. The widely anticipated assault would mark the two-year anniversary of the death in police custody of the extremist group's founder, Mohammed Yusuf.



Compass Direct news agency reports that church attendance in Maiduguri has fallen dramatically following a series of bomb attacks on churches there. Leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria have advised churches to suspend or reschedule services. Several have changed service times to try to outwit potential attackers.



Release partner Stefanos Foundation reports a series of bomb attacks in the city on Tuesday, with targets including at least two churches. 'It is difficult to estimate the number of dead or injured, as people are presently on the run,' our partner said.



Violence has escalated since attacks began in the run-up to April's elections. In early June, ten people died in two attacks on St Patrick's Church. Pastor David Usman and church secretary Hamman Andrew were killed by Boko Haram militants on June 7 (Prayer Alert, June 13, 2011).Then on June 16, four people died in an attack on a Church of the Brethren congregation in Damboa, 54 miles from Maiduguri, Compass reports. Several other churches have been attacked.



Boko Haram has also been blamed for other recent attacks further afield, including the attack last weekend on the All Christian-Fellowship Mission in Suleja, Niger state, in central Nigeria. Three people died and seven others were seriously injured in the Suleja bombing (Prayer Alert, July 12, 2011).



Church leaders fear that unless this extremist threat is tackled, it could deepen the divide between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. 'This Boko Haram has to be dealt with before they plunge the entire nation into a very serious crisis,' a church leader in Maiduguri told Compass Direct.



For more information about religious persecution in Nigeria, please click here: Nigeria country profile



(Sources: Compass Direct, Stefanos Foundation)



• Pray that Christians in northern and central Nigeria will focus on God and know that their help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:1). Ask God to protect churches and Christian homes.

• Pray for wisdom for state and federal governments in Nigeria in tackling this extremist threat. Pray that they will take firm action to end the violence.

NIGERIA – Pastor killed amid rising Islamist militancy in Borno

A very interesting post from http://www.releaseinternational.org/ about Islamic persecution in Nigeria. This follows this post about a Muslim ice cream man in Philadelphia. This follows this post  about Miss USA 2010 and this article about the recent news about the former ban on offshore drilling which would encourage American energy independence and prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran   and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and read this very interesting book HERE!

NIGERIA – Pastor killed amid rising Islamist militancy in Borno




Extremists shot dead a Nigerian pastor and his secretary in the north-eastern town of Maiduguri which is beset by increasing Islamist militancy.



Pastor David Usman and church secretary Hamman Andrew were killed in the Borno state capital by Boko Haram militants who have been blamed for several recent bomb attacks. The attacks have been widely interpreted as a protest against April's national elections which returned Christian incumbent Goodluck Jonathan to power.



A bomb attack on an army barracks in Maiduguri on May 29 killed 15 people and a series of seven bombs on June 7 included an attack on St Patrick's Church which killed three people. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on the Plateau state capital, Jos, on Christmas Eve (Prayer Alert, December 29, 2010).



Another pastor in Maiduguri, Rev Titus Dama Pona of the Evangelical Church Winning All, told Compass Direct news agency that recent violence had left Christians in fear of their lives.



'We no longer feel free moving around the city and most churches no longer carry out worship services for fear of becoming targets of these unprovoked attacks,' he said.



Pastor David, 45, described as a gentle and jovial man, was shot in an area of Maiduguri called the Railway Quarters, where his church is based, on June 7. He had reportedly raised the problem of Boko Haram with his superiors and commented that the Government needed to do more to stamp out this threat.



This was the second time Boko Haram had targeted Pastor David's church, a Church of Christ in Nigeria congregation. In July 2009, militants set fire to their building and killed several church members.



Boko Haram is committed to extending strict Islamic law or Sharia across Nigeria and has regularly targeted officials – including politicians, military personnel and police – as well as Christians. It rejects democratic institutions, which it sees as based on Christian values, according to Compass Direct.



On June 6, Boko Haram killed Ibrahim Birkuti, a moderate Muslim cleric who had criticised the group. He was shot dead outside his home in the town of Biu, some 120 miles south of Maiduguri, according to the BBC.



(Sources: BBC, Christian Today, Compass Direct)



• Ask God to bless and comfort the grieving families of Pastor David Usman and Hamman Andrew. Pray that their deaths will not be in vain.

• Pray that moderate Muslims will stand up against the extremist activities of Boko Haram – and against Islamist extremism generally which so often targets Christians.