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"Malaysia: Churches Firebombed print story download (PDF) email story share Share on Facebook Share on MySpace! no media Eight churches have been attacked in Malaysia following a court decision that allows Christians to use "Allah" in their prayers and publications when referring to God, according to The Associated Press (AP). On Sunday, Jan. 10, three churches were firebombed. "On Sunday, a Molotov cocktail was hurled at the All Saints Church in Taiping town in central Perak state early in the morning before it opened," state police chief Zulkifli Abdullah told AP. "Police found burn marks on the wall but there was no damage to the building," he added. Despite the attacks, thousands of Christians attended services and prayed for unity and an end to the attacks. The attacks on churches began on Jan. 8 and 9, when four churches were hit with firebombs. "No one was hurt and all suffered little damage, except the Metro Tabernacle Church," AP said. "Parishioners there moved services after fire gutted the first floor." The attacks followed a Dec. 31 High Court decision overturning a government ban prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" in prayers and literature. The court had ruled on a petition by Malaysia's Roman Catholic Church, whose main publication, the Herald, uses the word "Allah" in its Malay-language edition. The government has appealed the verdict."

"Reporting from Washington - President Obama, speaking today from the pulpit of a church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sometimes spoke, called on the congregation to rally around the spirit that had helped their ancestors pursue a long road to freedom. "It's that progress that allowed me to be here today," said Obama, the first African American president. The president, who doesn't frequently attend Sunday church services in Washington and has not found a permanent congregation for his family in the capital, joined in the services this morning at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church. The president arrived with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha. The church, founded in 1866 by seven freed slaves, originally was known as the Fifth Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. "It feels like a family," Obama told the congregation. There are at least a couple of occasions that might have prompted today's outing: the deaths of tens of thousands of Haitians in an earthquake that has shaken all of the Americas, as well as the birthday of the slain civil rights leader King, which is celebrated on Monday with a national holiday. "We gather here on the Sabbath at a time of extreme difficulty for our nation and the world," the president said, speaking much like a preacher from the pulpit. "We are not here just to ask the Lord for his blessing. We're also here to call on the memory of one of his servants, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr." Obama said he had come to a "a church founded by freed slaves . . . whose congregants set out for marches . . . from whose sanctuary King himself would sermonize from time to time." This was as much of a sermon as it was a speech. King "trusted God," the president said. "He had faith that God would make a way out of now way. . . . "Folks ask me sometimes, 'Why do you look so calm?' " Obama said on a particularly personal note, with his voice rising."

"The leader of the Taizé Community last night urged 30,000 young Christians to tell their peers about the Gospel. Young Christians from across Europe have spent the last week reflecting on their relationship with God at the European Meeting of Young Christians in Poznan, Poland, which ends today. Brother Alois told the youths last night that it was important for them to remain rooted in the church. "We have seen that in Poland, faith in Christ is inseparable from belonging to the church," he said. "So more than ever it is important not to run away but to go towards (the church), in order to express our love of this unique communion which is the church." Brother Alois said a new thirst for spirituality and the beyond was emerging in the West, as well as the church in China, which he recently visited. "This is a sign of hope," he said. "So the time has come for you, young people, to realise that it is up to you to transmit trust in God to others. Even if you have understood little of the Gospel, put it into practice; talk to your friends who do not know the faith, and accompany some children along the path of faith, too. "You know all of your peers who, upon entering adulthood, are losing their links with the Christian community, not necessarily by a conscious decision but by a simple chain of circumstances. Will you go towards them and seek ways to renew a relationship with the faith?""

"On Dec. 17, a mob of nearly 1,000 Muslims attacked a church building under construction in Bekasi Regency, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, according to VOM Canada. At midnight, Muslims arrived on bikes and on foot at the Church of Saint Albert. They stormed into the building, carrying banners and tanks of kerosene. One witness reported hearing them shout, "Destroy! Destroy it! Replace the church with mosque!" Muslims damaged bricks, broke lights, uprooted newly planted trees and set the building on fire. Praise God, no one was injured in the attack, but damage amounted to about 60 million rupees (approximately $6,235). Local Christians were planning to use the nearly completed building for a Christmas service. Following the attack, a leader of the church's construction committee said, "Even though our chapel was attacked, we are not afraid. We will continue the construction of this chapel until its completion." The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports persecuted believers in Indonesia by providing resources for churches and pastors and helping displaced believers rebuild their lives. VOM encourages you to pray that these believers will not be discouraged but will continue to rest in the joy and provision of Christ. Pray that Indonesian Christians will be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to share the truth of the Lord. "

"Hindu Militants Attack Prayer Service; 11 Injured Friday, January 22, 2010 (5:34 am) By Worthy News Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (Worthy News)-- Indian police have released on bail Hindu militants who allegedly attacked a Christian prayermeeting in Western India, seriously injuring at least 11 Christians, a rights group said Friday, January 22. U.S.-based International Christian Concern (ICC) said the January 17 violence in the city of Udaipur in Rajastha beganwhen members of the radical Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsavak Sangh (RSS) raided the Faith Calvary Church prayer meetingarmed with machetes, axes and sticks "and proceeded to beat Pastor Surajth Bhagari and church members of the church." FCC founder and director T.M. Omkar was quoted as saying that Christians suffered broken legs, arms and injuries to their heads. The victims were reportedly taken to a nearby government hospital where they "were partially" treated. Administrators of the hospital allegedly refused to issue them a medical certificate. "We felt that the hospital administration waspressured by some group who are keen to create trouble for the Christians. We are taking the matter to the court," Omkar reportedlysaid. Police briefly detained six "Hindu extremists" on charges that included "rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly in prosecution of [a] common object, house trespass and punishment for voluntarily causing hurt," ICCsaid. RELEASED ON BAIL However the suspects were released on bail the same day, the group added. In a statement, police reportedly said however they would "protect the Christians from further attacks" but ICC questions the officers intentions. ICC said Christians already filed a police complaint immediately after the violence but that officers only wrote a report onthe crime the next day after initially refusing to provide a so-called First Information Report. "We condemn the attacks on Faith Calvary Church by Hindu radicals. We urge Indian offi

"KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Three Christian churches were attacked with firebombs Friday as tensions rose in a dispute over whether Christians could use the word "Allah" in this largely Muslim nation. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Mark Baker/Associated Press Muslims gathered outside a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Friday to protest a recent court ruling allowing Christians to use the word Allah. Later in the day, small crowds rallied outside two major mosques in the capital, in a growing protest over a court ruling that overturned a government ban on the use of "Allah" by Roman Catholics as a translation for God. The government has appealed that ruling, insisting that the ban should remain in force, and made no move to bar the unsanctioned rallies, as it commonly does."

"World|Wed, Jan. 27 2010 11:45 AM EDT Islamic Militants in Somalia Murder Christian Leader By Simba Tian|Compass Direct News * Single Page * * E-mail * * Print * * RSS * * digg Facebook Twitter Stumble Reddit del.ico.us Buzz Share * * Text * G-bookmarks * Live * Technorati NAIROBI, Kenya (Compass Direct News) - Islamic extremists shot the leader of an underground church to death outside the capital city of Somalia this month and have threatened to kill his wife, his tearful widow told Compass. Having learned that he had left Islam to become a Christian, Somali militants from the Islamic extremist al Shabaab murdered 41-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Ali at about noon on Jan. 1, Amina Ibrahim Hassan said. He was killed sometime after leaving his home in Hodan, on the outskirts of Mogadishu, she said. She and other family members were not immediately aware that he had been killed. "We waited for him that day, but he did not turn up," said Hassan, who has since fled to Nairobi. "The following day, on Jan. 2, I was informed by the fellowship that my husband had been killed." Ali led an underground church. Christian sources said members of al Shabaab, said to have links with al Qaeda terrorists, had been monitoring Ali and his wife for indications that they had left Islam. Ali had organized New Year's Day festivities for Christians to take place in Medina, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) outside of Mogadishu. Al Shabaab extremists killed him after word of the planned party leaked to them, Hassan said. Hassan, who worked for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) before leaving the country, said she received threatening calls from members of al Shabaab on Jan. 3. "We know who you are working for," Hassan said one extremist told her. "We also know your home and that you are a follower of the Christians, and we are going to kill you the way we killed your husband." Aware of the Islamic extremist

"A powerful earthquake shook Haiti on Tuesday, leveling buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and sending panicked residents into the streets, as beleaguered authorities braced for major casualties. The quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0, occurred about 4:45 p.m. and was centered about 10 miles west of the capital. The U.S. Geological Survey said it was the largest temblor ever recorded in Haiti, and witnesses reported a series of strong aftershocks. "People are out in the streets, crying, screaming, shouting," said Karel Zelenka, director of the Catholic Relief Services office in Haiti. "They see the extent of the damage," he said, but could do little to rescue people trapped under rubble because night had fallen. "There are a lot of collapsed buildings," Zelenka said in a telephone interview from Port-au-Prince. "This will be a major, major disaster." He reported that poorly constructed shantytowns and other buildings had crumbled in huge clouds of dust. Near the CRS headquarters, a supermarket was "completely razed," he said, and a gasoline station and a church were reduced to rubble. Among the worst-hit areas was the impoverished Carrefour section of Port-au-Prince near the sea. "

"A devastating quake left Haiti's capital in ruins, knocking down hospitals, high-rises, and churches Tuesday - and leveling the presidential palace. "There must be thousands of people dead," Catholic Relief Services representative Karel Zelenka told colleagues by phone, just before service went out. "People were screaming 'Jesus, Jesus' and running in all directions," said Reuters reporter Joseph Guyler Delva from the capital Port-au-Prince. "It's total chaos." "The whole city is in darkness, you have thousands of people sitting in the streets, with nowhere to go," said Rachmani Domersant of the relief group Food for the Poor. He and others have reported many downtown buildings collapsed in the city of 2 million, including the parliament, UN headquarters and other other official buildings. Photographs showed the famed domed presidential palace almost completely destroyed."

"In Egypt, seven Coptic Christians were murdered yesterday by a Muslim gunman as they filed out of a midnight mass in the southern town of Nag Hamadi. In Pakistan, more than 100 Christian homes were ransacked by a Muslim mob last July in the village of Bahmaniwala. In Iraq that same month, seven Christian churches were bombed in Baghdad and Mosul in the space of three days. Such atrocities-and there are scores of other examples-are grim reminders that when it comes to persecution, few groups have suffered as grievously as Christians in Muslim lands. Fewer still have suffered with such little attention paid. Now a new report from the non-profit ministry, Open Doors USA, shines a light on the scale of oppression. In its annual World Watch List, Open Doors ranks eight Muslim countries among the 10 worst persecutors of Christians. The other two, North Korea (which tops the list) and Laos, are communist states. Of the 50 countries on the list, 35 are majority Muslim. Take Iran, which this year ranks as the world's second-worst persecutor of Christians. Open Doors reports that in 2009 the Islamic Republic arrested 85 Christians, many of whom were also mistreated in prison. In 2008, some 50 Christians were arrested and one Christian couple was beaten to death by security officials. At least part of the reason for the mistreatment appears to be the result of Muslim conversions to Christianity: Apostasy carries a mandatory death sentence in Iran."

"Vatican City, Jan 11 (AP) Pope Benedict XVI denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month, saying today that world peace depends on safeguarding God's creation. He issued the admonition in a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, an annual appointment during which the pontiff reflects on issues the Vatican wants to highlight to the diplomatic corps. Benedict has been dubbed the "green pope" for his increasingly vocal concern about the need to protect the environment. Under his watch, the Vatican has installed photovoltaic cells on its main auditorium to convert sunlight into electricity and has joined a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its CO2 emissions. For the pontiff, it's a moral issue: Church teaching holds that man must respect creation because it's destined for the benefit of humanity's future."

"Clashes between Muslim and Catholic gangs erupted again on Tuesday in the central Nigerian city of Jos, forcing the authorities to impose a 24-hour curfew on the city. Residents reached by telephone told VOA the violence had spread to Bukuru, a neighboring community. They said they heard gunshots and saw smoke billowing from several parts of the city, particularly in north Jos where the fighting has been most intense. Security forces have ordered everyone to remain indoors after efforts to contain the violence failed. The curfew announcement is being relayed repeatedly over local radio. Soldiers have deployed tanks and armored personnel carriers in a bid to contain the violence. Rioting first broke out on Sunday after Christian youths protested the building of a mosque in a Christian-controlled area of the city which has a population of 500,000. Houses and cars were set ablaze after Muslim youths attacked a Catholic church. Calm returned to the city on Monday."

"President Obama came to a Fairfax County elementary school Tuesday morning to announce that he will seek a $1.35 billion expansion of his signature Race to the Top initiative for improving public education, including provisions that will allow individual school systems to compete for the coveted federal grants. "We're going to raise the bar for all our students and take bigger steps toward closing the achievement gap," Obama said, speaking to a group of sixth graders at Graham Road Elementary, a Falls Church school where a heavy concentration of students from immigrant and low-income families achieves high standardized test scores. Race to the Top was launched last year to raise student performance by offering $4.35 billion to states and the District in exchange for adopting elements of the president's reform program. Those include more challenging academic standards; better testing to measure what students know; rigorous evaluation systems for teachers and principals; plans for turning around failing schools; and cutting edge data systems to track progress. "

Reform Program?

"VANCOUVER - The Canadian government has recently decided to cut back or entirely withdraw the funding to organizations that encourage a boycott of Israel or Israeli products, including pro-Palestinian and Christian groups. One such organization is the Kairos welfare agency, which lost $7 million - half of its annual budget. Kairos is a social apparatus serving 11 Catholic and Protestant groups and churches promoting the "liberation theology" within the Canadian legal and educational establishments. Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that the agency's budget was cut back in light of its anti-Semitic positions, adding the group preaches for recognition of such terror organizations as Hamas and Hezbollah while rejecting the Jewish people's right for a state. Kairos denied Kenney's claims and charged that the Canadian government's decision was motivated by political considerations. It further argued that criticism of Israel should not be regarded as anti-Semitism. Another organization whose funds were cut back was the Canadian-Arab Federation, which provides aid for immigrants from Muslim countries. The claim against the group was that it promoted hatred and extremism. The Federation claimed in response that by withdrawing funds from its budget, the Canadian government is shunning Arab immigrants. "

"A nonprofit organization devoted to advancing religious liberty for Christians has scoured the news, sought the opinion of its e-mail subscribers and selected a list of "the top 10 incidents of anti-Christian defamation, bigotry and discrimination in the U.S. from last year." "It is arguable that anti-Christian hatred has spilled over into material forms of persecution in 2009," said Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "Christians were killed and bullied for their witness, ministers and churches threatened with violence and vandalized for standing for marriage and Christians were fired for not compromising their faith. If these are not bona fide examples of persecution, than I wonder what more it might take?" CADC subscribers chose from a list of 20 stories - both those that made headlines and those that were conspicuously absent from wide media coverage - to pick their top 10. The winners included a wide array of events deemed to insult, injure or marginalize Christianity. They included acts of violence, laws and judgments, actions by schools against students and decisions by the Obama administration to promote causes and leaders at odds with Christian teaching. (Story continues below) Here, then, is the list, as reported by the CADC: 1. "The Federal Hate Crimes Bill that attacks religious liberty and freedom of speech." As WND has reported, Canada's experience with "hate crimes" legislation has caused many American Christians to fear the U.S. will follow a similar path of censoring or even punishing in the name of "hate speech" people who declare the Bible's teachings on homosexuality. Gerald Chipeur is an attorney working to defend a Canadian pastor whose letter to the editor of a local newspaper prompted a complaint, a $5,000 fine and a court order not to express his beliefs further. "

"Among those detained are two infants, both less than a year old, reported International Christian Concern last week. ICC said it has learned that the indigenous Christians have been imprisoned since October, and among those detained is a six-month-old infant. The local governor, Jose de los Santos Sauna Limaco, had announced that Christianity was banned and called a meeting with the Kogui Christians on the Kogui reservation in northern Colombia on Oct. 27. After the Christians were gathered, he reportedly trapped them and imprisoned 16 individuals, including children, for refusing to renounce their faith. Since then, the number of Kogui Christians in prison has grown to 28. ICC noted that in some regions of Colombia the governor and local authorities are given relative autonomy over reserves for indigenous tribes."

"A charity supporting oppressed believers around the world has warned that persecution against Christians is set to worsen in North Korea in 2010. Practising Christianity is currently illegal in the reclusive communist country and Christians can face imprisonment, torture and even execution for their faith. Release International works through local Christian partners to support North Korean refugees fleeing to China or South Korea, by providing pastoral care, safe houses, and Christian literature and Bibles. Partner Tim Peters said North Korea was one of the world's worst trouble spots for Christians. In the latest edition of the Release magazine, he said he had received reports of worsening persecution against Christians as the North Korean economy continues to collapse. "2010 is forecast to be a year of tremendous hardship and food shortages since the country's harvest in 2009 was a poor one," he said. Kang Cheol Hwan is a former prisoner who converted to Christianity after finding refuge in South Korea. He told Release the situation was getting worse in North Korea. "It is like a giant prison camp has crossed the land. Starvation spreads out over the entire nation; it has become the norm," he said. "I lived in Yoduk prison camp for 10 years; I was treated like an animal there. I had watched many people die from starvation and beatings. "I witnessed open executions and watched helplessly as people died miserably. "These fearful scenes have not left my mind.""

"On Dec. 17, security police and undercover officers attacked a Christmas gathering of more than 70 newly converted Christians in the city of Karaj, Iran, according to Farsi Christian News. Officers photographed and videotaped the believers and also confiscated Bibles, Christian books and a computer. Christians were told they must be available during the period leading up to formal and legal interrogations and that they must appear before prosecutors when ordered. Two of the leaders of the group, Kambiz Saghaee and Ali Keshvar-Doost, were arrested. At last report, Saghaee and Keshvar-Doost remained in detention at an undisclosed location, and their families had neither been able to contact them nor received confirmation from police of their whereabouts. Pray that Saghaee and Keshvar-Doost will be released. Pray that the new converts who attended this meeting will grow stronger in their faith in Christ. Pray for the safety of Iranian believers celebrating the birth of Jesus and the beginning of a new blessed year, as many must gather in secret to avoid attention from authorities. "

"Greetings from Israel. I'm here for a time of prayer and planning with some of our Joshua Fund team. Three big stories in the news since I've hit the ground, all involving preparations for a possible massive war between Israel, Iran and her Radical Islamic allies: * ISRAEL TO SIMULATE BIOLOGICAL WARFARE ATTACK: "An exercise simulating a response to a biological warfare attack will be carried out in the Dan region next week. The exercise, which will be the largest of its kind in Israel's history, will be carried out in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Holon and aims to evaluate the ability of the Home Front, the medical services, rescue teams and the municipal authorities to respond in the conditions created by a biological catastrophe caused either by terrorists or by accident. The exercise, code named Orange Flame, will be held on Wednesday and Thursday next week, and rescue units of the Home Front Command and special detection units of the Health Ministry, will be tasked to locate the biological hazard and deal with hundreds of citizens who were hypothetically exposed to the substance." * IDF TO BLANKET ISRAEL WITH GAS MASKS - "The Home Front Command is planning to begin distribution of individual protection kits, i.e. gas masks, to every citizen starting in late February, according to a cabinet decision taken last week. Originally, just over 60 percent of the population were to receive kits, but a decision to extend that protection to the whole country means the production of the necessary equipment has been stepped-up, and another billion shekels is needed to fund to the endeavor. The plan is to distribute protective kits to each of the nearly eight million citizens (in line with a population estimate for 2013), over a period of three years.""

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Prayers of thanksgiving and cries for help rose from a roofless cathedral and the huddled homeless Sunday, the sixth day of an epic humanitarian crisis that was straining the world's ability to respond and igniting flare-ups of violence amid the rubble. A leading aid group echoed complaints about the supply bottleneck and skewed priorities at the U.S.-controlled airport. The general in charge said the U.S. military was "working aggressively" to speed up deliveries. In the ruins of the Port-Au-Prince cathedral, gathered beneath shattered stained glass for their first Sunday Mass since Tuesday's earthquake, survivors were told by their priest, "We are in the hands of God now." But anger mounted hourly that other helping hands were slow in getting food and water to millions in need. "The government is a joke. The U.N. is a joke," Jacqueline Thermiti, 71, said as she lay in the dust with dozens of dying elderly outside their collapsed nursing home near the airport. "We're a kilometer (half a mile) from the airport and we're going to die of hunger." Water was delivered to more people around the capital, where an estimated 300,000 were living in the streets, but food and medicine were still scarce. Pregnant women gave birth in the streets. The injured arrived in wheelbarrows and on people's backs at hurriedly erected field hospitals. Authorities warned of looting and violence. In downtown Port-au-Prince, where people set bonfires to burn uncollected bodies, gunfire rang out and bands of machete-wielding young men, their faces covered with bandanas, roamed the streets."