IDOP 2005
Category: The Persecuted Church...
Posted Tuesday, November 08, 2005 at 01:06 PM [GMT-6]

The annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is this Sunday, November 13. Christians around the world will unite in prayer for their brothers and sisters who are being discriminated against, harassed, tortured and killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

If this seems to be an event with no discernible reason for existence, consider the following reports that just arrived in my mailbox from the Voice of the Martyrs:

• China - Public Security Bureau officers recently burst into a Sunday school room and herded 30 children into a van. Despite the scary situation, one child started singing. The van soon was filled with song. Upon arrival at the police station, the children marched bravely into the interrogation room still singing to the Lord. Threatened with having to write "I do not believe in Jesus" 100 times before they would be released, the children instead wrote: "I believe in Jesus today. I will believe in Jesus tomorrow. I will believe in Jesus forever!"


• Guinea - A baptism ceremony in Nzerekore was attacked Wednesday, Ocober 19th, by Muslims. They complained the music from the service disturbed their prayers at a nearby mosque. Ten people were injured, two seriously, and several houses were sacked. The Muslims rioted again that Friday evening and razed a local video store.


• Indonesia - Three Christian teenage girls were beheaded by assailants dressed in black on October 29th, as they walked to school. So far no witness has been questioned and no suspect arrested, according to police. One student survived and described the attack.


• Nigeria - A 30-year-old Christian resident of Paiko was severely tortured. He claims that at one point police beat him with their batons and almost killed him. It was only through the intervention of his pastor and a lawyer from his church that he was released. Since he has become an "infidel" in the eyes of his Muslim employer, he can no longer care for their cattle. Besides the loss of income he faces, Sashi's pastor has said that the Muslims will also never abandon their resolve to kill him. Sashi has reportedly received death threats since his release.


• Somalia - Dr. Osman Sheik Ahmed, a well-known figure in Somalia's higher education sphere, was shot and killed October 7th, in Northern Mogadishu. Witnesses have confirmed to Dr. Osman's family and members of his house church that he was assassinated by Islamic hit men from Mogadishu's radical Islamic courts. He is survived by his wife, Zahra Ali Hassan and nine children. His wife is in hiding fearing for her life. Reuters reported in 2003, that a top leader of Kulanka Culimada, the Islamic terror group that runs the Islamic courts said: "All Somali Christians must be killed according to the Islamic Law. Such people do not have a place in Somalia and we will never recognize their existence and we will slaughter them."

Learn more about IDOP at PersecutedChurch.org, including how to get involved and stay informed.

Technorati tags: IDOP | Persecuted Church | Violence against Christians