Maryam and Mitra, both converts from Islam, were arrested on Christmas Eve in 2009, along with 13 others, after a raid by government officials on a house church in Pakdasht, south-east of Tehran. While most of the others were released shortly after being arrested, the two women were detained until 17 March 2010, when they were released temporarily. They were re-arrested in April 2011 and imprisoned after being convicted of ‘membership of an illegal group’.
Iranian Christians Maryam Jalili and Mitra Rahmati were released from Evin Prison yesterday, six weeks before their two and half year sentences were due to be completed. The women were amongst eleven prisoners of conscience to be released; others included prominent human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh and the reformist politician, Mohsen Aminzadeh.
Maryam and Mitra, both converts from Islam, were arrested on Christmas Eve in 2009, along with 13 others, after a raid by government officials on a house church in Pakdasht, south-east of Tehran. While most of the others were released shortly after being arrested, the two women were detained until 17 March 2010, when they were released temporarily. They were re-arrested in April 2011 and imprisoned after being convicted of ‘membership of an illegal group’.
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So the question that has been going through my mind is what exactly defines leadership? Is it a characteristic that enables you to lead others or is it a quality in you that others wish to emulate. Maybe leadership is more about guiding than directing, and more about mentorship than supervision. If we were to look at the people who impacted us most in our lives, were those people the mentors, or the supervisors? Starting next Monday, the North Korean underground church will lead Christians around the world in 100 days of worship in the common places. Daily, through Dec. 31, Christians are invited to follow the lead of their North Korean Christian brothers and sisters to do what led to their persecution in the first place: gathering together in small groups for daily public worship in the common places of life—their homes, schools, workplaces, parks, libraries, bus stops and more–using the historic four pillars liturgy of the North Korean underground church. Rev. Eric Foley, CEO of Seoul USA, says while Americans are pledging to join in the effort, their goal is not to evangelize others. Preaching the Scripture, not politics or even "Duck Dynasty," will bring revival to the Southern Baptist Convention and the nation, SBC President Fred Luter said in his address to the SBC Executive Committee at its Sept. 16-17 meeting in Nashville. Revival birthed through the SBC and its entities is still his heart's desire, Luter said, drawing comparisons to what he termed the "sad story" of the prophet's vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-10. "My ultimate goal is, prayerfully, that we can pray that God will send revival across America and particularly among our SBC churches," he said, "because it's so easy to get sidetracked. It's so easy to get comfortable where we are. It's so easy to rest on our laurels and all of the past things that we've done. "However, I am convinced that revival is still sorely needed among us, among our churches, among our denomination and particularly among the body of Christ," Luter said. "My heart's desire is still that God will send revival through the churches, the seminaries, the colleges and the entities of the Southern Baptist Convention. That's still my heart's desire." Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Human Rights Concern Eritrea (HRCE) have called for the imposition of targeted sanctions on key Eritrean officials in order to secure the release of prominent politicians and journalists who have been detained incommunicado for the last twelve years. On 18 September 2001 the Eritrean government closed all independent media outlets, detaining several journalists and eleven of fifteen prominent ruling party members who had called for democracy, along with their family members. None of the detainees have been charged or tried. While on several occasions members of the ruling regime have denied all knowledge of named detainees, unwittingly transforming these cases into enforced disappearances, regime apologists often attempt to portray the lack of due process as protection against certain death sentences. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is deeply concerned by an acid attack on an elderly Catholic priest in Zanzibar last Friday. The incident, which is the latest in a series of assaults on churches and church leaders in the semi-autonomous archipelago, highlights a worrying deterioration in freedom of religion or belief in Tanzania.
Father Anselm Mwang’amba was attacked as he left an internet cafe in the historic Stone Town area of the Zanzibar capital, and is currently hospitalized with severe burns to the face, neck and hands. According to a local report, while inside the cafe Father Mwang’amba received a call from an unknown number and was doused with acid as he exited to answer his telephone. The assault on Father Mwang’amba is the fourth major attack on a Christian leader in Zanzibar since December 2012, when a Catholic priest was wounded by unknown gunmen. Local Christians report receiving threats via text message or in leaflets naming church leaders who have been targeted for assassination, and in some instances referring to a prospective date. In February 2013, the murder of a Protestant pastor was followed a week later by the killing of a Catholic priest. In addition, at least 20 churches have been looted and either burnt or demolished, allegedly by supporters of the separatist religious movement Uamsho (Awakening). Perpetrators of religious violence are never brought to trial even when identified or caught in the act, and police investigations are generally extended indefinitely. In a comment to CSW on the attack on Father Mwang’amba a local Christian who preferred to remain anonymous said: "We are asking the international community to intervene in this issue. Christians do not have any protection. In this environment we live in so much fear of what will happen to whom tomorrow." CSW has also received reports of increasing discrimination on the Tanzanian mainland and an inadequate official response to religion-related violence. The family of a Pentecostal pastor beheaded in March 2013 in violence that erupted in Geita after the Muslim community objected to the opening of a Christian-owned butchery are still awaiting justice. Christians complain of the uneven application of public order stipulations designed to maintain religious harmony, including discrimination in the granting of permits for open-air meetings and new media outlets. In May, people died and over sixty were injured when the inauguration service for a new Catholic Cathedral in Arusha was bombed in what the Tanzanian president described as a “terrorist attack.” Daniel Sinclair, Communications Director at CSW said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Father Mwang’amba, who we wish a speedy recovery. These threats and attacks targeting church leaders and church buildings are in violation of the Tanzanian constitution, which provides for freedom of religion or belief. If left unchecked, religious violence will ultimately undermine national cohesion. CSW calls upon the Tanzanian authorities to take decisive action to tackle rising extremism and prevent impunity from taking hold in any part of the country. It is vital that the Government of Zanzibar effectively addresses attacks on the local Christian community, offers protection to all who are under threat, adequately compensates churches that have been looted or demolished, and ensures that inciters and perpetrators of religion-related violence are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” As many as three gunmen opened fire Monday inside one of the Navy's oldest buildings, attacking office workers at a heavily guarded military facility in the heart of the nation's capital. At least 12 people were killed, according to the latest announcement by authorities. One of the gunmen was dead, and police were searching for two other men believed to have joined in the attack at the Washington Navy Yard. The suspects were reportedly dressed in military-style clothing, including one who had on a beret. In all, more than a dozen people were shot, at least half of them fatally. It was not immediately clear whether that number included the dead gunman. LHF Back to Basics series 'Spiritual Warfare' continues today, click on the picture for a direct link to this week's lesson. This lesson and the next describe the spiritual forces of good. These include God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit, and angels. They are powerful spiritual forces which assist believers in warfare. Praying in tongues is getting a lot of attention in secular media these days. The New York Times recently published an article called “Why We Talk in Tongues,” and the Associated Press is reporting “Messages in Tongues Down Among Pentecostals.” Wait, what? Can you even be Pentecostal—or charismatic—without praying in tongues? Isn’t it somewhat of an oxymoron to stumble upon a born-again, blood-bought, Spirit-filled believer who doesn’t speak in tongues? After all, the evidence of being filled with the Spirit is speaking in other tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:6). |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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