The war on Christians – The global persecution of Christians is the unreported catastrophe of our time

5 October 2013- The Spectator

Imagine if correspondents in late 1944 had reported the Battle of the Bulge, but without explaining that it was a turning point in the second world war. Or what if finance reporters had told the story of the AIG meltdown in 2008 without adding that it raised questions about derivatives and sub-prime mortgages that could augur a vast financial implosion?

Most people would say that journalists had failed to provide the proper context to understand the news. Yet that’s routinely what media outlets do when it comes to outbreaks of anti-Christian persecution around the world, which is why the global war on Christians remains the greatest story never told of the early 21st century.

In recent days, people around the world have been appalled by images of attacks on churches in Pakistan, where 85 people died when two suicide bombers rushed the Anglican All Saints Church in Peshawar, and in Kenya, where an assault on a Catholic church in Wajir left one dead and two injured.

Those atrocities are indeed appalling, but they cannot truly be understood without being seen as small pieces of a much larger narrative. Consider three points about the landscape of anti-Christian persecution today, as shocking as they are generally unknown. According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular observatory based in Frankfurt, Germany, 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians. Statistically speaking, that makes Christians by far the most persecuted religious body on the planet.

According to the Pew Forum, between 2006 and 2010 Christians faced some form of discrimination, either de jure or de facto, in a staggering total of 139 nations, which is almost three-quarters of all the countries on earth. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, an average of 100,000 Christians have been killed in what the centre calls a ‘situation of witness’ each year for the past decade. That works out to 11 Christians killed somewhere in the world every hour, seven days a week and 365 days a year, for reasons related to their faith.

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CTFM & Islamic mosque newspaper articles / RUA Prayer in Melbourne tonight Friday 4th Oct / Live webcast with Pr Daniel this Sunday 6th Oct

Dear friends & family in Christ, 1)  You may click the following links to read several newspaper articles regarding our recent peaceful resolution with the Islamic mosque in Doveton, Victoria.…

Continue ReadingCTFM & Islamic mosque newspaper articles / RUA Prayer in Melbourne tonight Friday 4th Oct / Live webcast with Pr Daniel this Sunday 6th Oct

For Richard Dawkins, ‘Muslim Bashing’ Is Different Than ‘Christian Bashing’

By Michael Brown, CP Op-Ed Contributor – August 12, 2013

Professor Richard Dawkins, known as the world’s most famous atheist, has risen to rock star status for his attacks on God and religion, in particular, his attacks on the God of the Bible. But when he recently criticized Muslims, he was in for a surprise.

Before looking at Dawkins’ rather mild criticism of Muslims, let’s remember the depth of his vitriol against Christians and the Bible, most of which has only enhanced Dawkins’ reputation.

In an April interview aired on the Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera, Dawkins railed on the Catholic Church, saying that, as “Horrible as sexual abuse no doubt was [suffered by some children at the hands of deviant priests], the damage was arguably less than the long-term psychological damage inflicted by bringing the child up Catholic in the first place.”

Was Dawkins really serious? The interviewer, Mehdi Hasan asked: “You believe that being bought up as a Catholic is worse than being abused by a priest?”

Dawkins replied: “There are shades of being abused by a priest, and I quoted an example of a woman in America who wrote to me saying that when she was seven years old she was sexually abused by a priest in his car.

“At the same time a friend of hers, also seven, who was of a Protestant family, died, and she was told that because her friend was Protestant she had gone to Hell and will be roasting in Hell forever.

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CTFM new church project- unexpected answer to prayer

Dear family & friends in Christ,

We wish to thank you all for covering us in prayer regarding the new Catch The Fire Ministries base which was about to be built in Doveton, Victoria.

We’re sure you all know that the land right next to us was purchased by the Afghani Muslim community to build a mosque which we at CTFM opposed, but the local council granted the permit.

This matter was taken to VCAT and the hearing was adjourned to November.

In Luke 14:25-35 the Word of God speaks of the importance of counting the cost before moving to build a tower or going to war. Well, in the past few weeks we have been doing just that, spending hours prayerfully seeking the Lord’s direction as to what we should do.

Pr Daniel particularly asked the Lord for a clear sign to show him whether or not he should continue to fight this battle in the courts, as the whole purpose of opposing the construction of the mosque was based on the fact it was going to be built right next door to our future CTFM base.

We were ready to go all the way to the Supreme Court, even though it would have taken us around 2 years and tens of thousands of dollars.

Well, all glory to God that our prayers were answered in the most unexpected way.

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Indonesia to host Miss World despite Muslim council objection

The Sundaily – Posted on 27 August 2013

JAKARTA – The Miss World beauty pageant will go ahead in Indonesia next month despite objections from the country’s leading Islamic federation, an organizer said Tuesday.

“We have obtained support from the government so there are no obstacles,” said Syafril Nasution, corporate affairs director for RCTI, the organizer and official broadcaster of the event.

“Since the beginning, we have made it clear that the event will not feature bikinis, or make use of anything that is against religious and cultural values,” he said.

“So we don’t really understand why there are still objections.”

Amidhan Sabrah, chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, said it was opposed to the event because it objectified women.

“This kind of events turn women into a commodity and that is against Islam,” he said.

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My life of hell in an Afghan harem

By Phyllis Chesler – New York Post – September 21, 2013

Naive and in love, I married a man from Kabul — only to discover the horrible life of a fundamentalist Muslim wife.

Phyllis Chesler, 72, is a feminist scholar and a professor emerita of psychology and women’s studies at City University of New York. In her 14th book, “An American Bride in Kabul” (Palgrave Macmillan) out early next month, she shares for the first time the story of the five months she spent, as a young bride, held prisoner in a Afghan household. 

I once lived in a harem in Afghanistan.

I did not enter the kingdom as a diplomat, soldier, teacher, journalist or foreign aid worker. I came as a young Jewish bride of the son of one of the country’s wealthiest men. I was held in a type of captivity — but it’s not as if I had been kidnapped.

I walked into it of my own free will.

It is 1959. I am only 18 when my prince — a dark, older, handsome, westernized foreigner who had traveled abroad from his native home in Afghanistan — bedazzles me.

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Nairobi attack: Kenyan forces battle to clear Islamist terrorists from mall

  theguardian.com,

With 62 confirmed dead after al-Shabaab militants stormed the complex, it is unclear whether any hostages are still being held.

Kenyan security forces remain locked in a slow and bloody operation to clear Islamist militant hostage-takers from an upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi, as plumes of black smoke pour from the complex and sporadic gunfire and occasional blasts can reportedly be heard.

More than 48 hours after a heavily armed group from the Somalia-based al-Shabaab organisation killed at least 62 people in the Westgate centre, which was packed with shoppers and families, little is known about the situation inside.

The confirmed dead now include four Britons, along with nationals from another dozen countries, as well as Kenya.

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Erdogan’s Hate-Jew Fest

August 21, 2013 By Michael van der Galien

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been set loose by his fellow members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti). Instead of talking about the protests in Gezi Park (Istanbul) and the accompanying police violence, he has declared a war of words on two other enemies: the Egyptian military and Israel.

When Egyptian general Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi removed Morsi from power, Erdogan immediately defended the deposed president Mohammed Morsi.  The new de facto ruler, Al-Sisi, was, said Erdogan, an anti-democratic, ruthless dictator. A predator, if you will.

Morsi should immediately be restored to power. After all, he had won the elections. In Erdogan’s view of democracy, which boils down to majoritism, nothing else matters.

No, not the 22 million signatures collected by Morsi’s opponents calling on him to resign or the fact that attacks on Christians and their churches were on the rise from the very moment the Muslim Brothers came to power. Increasingly, more Coptic girls were – and still are – kidnapped, raped and forced to convert to Islam. After that horrendous ordeal they were (and again: are) forced to marry a Muslim, who makes sure they will never see their real, Christian family again.

Erdogan did not and does not care about any of that. He cares only – or so he says – about Morsi and his “democratic victory” and legitimacy.

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NOTHING LESS THAN SATANIC

By Alex Murashko, Christian Post Reporter – August 16, 2013

The recent barrage of attacks on Christians in Egypt, including on members and churches of the nation’s Coptic denomination, are of a scale unseen in modern times and being described as satanic, according to sources living in the country. The persecution watchdog group, Open Doors USA, says Egypt is engulfed in a furnace of fire and Christians are taking on the brunt force of the attacks.

“The attack against the Christians of Egypt is nothing less than a furious satanic attack that aims at terrorizing Christians, imprisoning them at their homes helplessly with no guarantee of protection so their love, peace, hope and testimony may be neutralized,” stated an anonymous Christian leader, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, in a commentary obtained by The Christian Post.

“We, Christians of Egypt, are facing a severe time of persecution and suffering that we may have not witnessed since the Roman times!” the source explained.

Thursday evening, the overall picture coming out of Egypt from news reports was dire. Egypt’s health ministry said that at least 580 people were killed and more than 4,000 injured amidst clashes involving security forces and former President Mohammad Morsi supporters.

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Minister says knowledge of jihad must for children

August 31, 2013 | Shawwal 23, 1434

PESHAWAR: Every child should know about the actual purpose and spirit of jihad as it couldn’t be separated from the faith of Muslims, said Provincial Minister for Information Shah Farman.

“Jihad is part of our faith. Jihad shouldn’t be held responsible for the act of someone, who misuses it for other purposes,” he told a press conference here on Wednesday.

Like other basic principles of Islam, he said, children should have knowledge of jihad.

To a question about reinsertion of Quranic verses regarding jihad in the textbook of Islamic studies for grade 9 and 10, the minister said that a review committee was formed to look into the matter. “No one can dictate the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led provincial government to change the curricula,” he said, adding that he had not taken dollars from America.

Mr Farman said that after the passage of 18th Amendment making curricula was a responsibility of the province so it would be developed according to the teachings of Islam and Pakhtun culture. He said that curricula would not be changed to please some elements to help them remain in power.

“According to our oath, we will defend Pakistan and Islamic ideology at all forums. No matter if someone is happy or angry,” he added.

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Video link to Pr Daniel on Sunrise Program on Channel 7 / Radio interview on CTFM vs Islamic Mosque

Dear family & friends in Christ, 1) Following is the video link to Pr Daniel's interview on Channel Seven 'Sunrise Program' this morning Tuesday 17th Septmeber. http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/watch/18965627/church-battles-to-stop-islamic-centre/ Please be encouraged…

Continue ReadingVideo link to Pr Daniel on Sunrise Program on Channel 7 / Radio interview on CTFM vs Islamic Mosque

Minor Victory in CTFM vs Mosque Court Case / Pr Daniel on Channel Seven Sunrise Program sometime between 7:15-7:30am tomorrow Tues 17 Sept

Dear friends & family in Christ, Thank you for your prayer support. We thank and praise God that the CTFM VCAT court case to stop the Islamic Mosque in Doveton,…

Continue ReadingMinor Victory in CTFM vs Mosque Court Case / Pr Daniel on Channel Seven Sunrise Program sometime between 7:15-7:30am tomorrow Tues 17 Sept

The Commentator : Islamism’s slow genocide against Christanity

Noah Beck – 20 August 2013

As Egypt’s Islamists blame Christians for the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, anti-Christian violence has reached epidemic levels, with an estimated 82 churches across Egypt attacked and heavily damaged by pro-Morsi supporters in a mere 48 hours.

Unfortunately, the persecution of Christians is nothing new in Egypt or other Muslim-majority countries. But thanks to the mainstream media, few Westerners understand the true scale or nature of the horrors involved.

As you read this, Christians around the world are being murdered, raped, plundered, abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, or otherwise oppressed by Muslims. Christians in Muslim-majority areas are some of the most vulnerable and horribly oppressed people on earth; they live at the mercy of the mob and receive little or no protection from the police or other government institutions.

The reach of this silent tragedy is sweeping – a global religious genocide on “slow burn” with occasional conflagrations that make it into the mainstream media. There are an estimated 100 million persecuted Christians.

This massive crime is documented in shocking and painstaking detail in Raymond Ibrahim’s new book Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians. The book is required reading for anyone who cares about religious freedom, human rights, and/or the survival of Christians in their ancestral lands.

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Media Release: CTFM vs Islamic Mosque VCAT hearing in Melbourne 10am Monday 16th September

General Immediate Release 13th September 2013 A VCAT hearing at 55 King St in Melbourne is scheduled for 10am Monday 16th September 2013 regarding the building permit granted by the…

Continue ReadingMedia Release: CTFM vs Islamic Mosque VCAT hearing in Melbourne 10am Monday 16th September

CTFM vs Islamic Mosque VCAT hearing Melbourne Mon 16 Sept

Dear friends & family in Christ, A VCAT hearing at 55 King St Melbourne is scheduled for 10am this Monday 16th September 2013 regarding the building permit granted by the…

Continue ReadingCTFM vs Islamic Mosque VCAT hearing Melbourne Mon 16 Sept