ICC's June E-Newsletter, Persecution by International Christian Concern

International Christian Concern

PERSECUTION JUNE 2012

ISlam’s

WAR on

Christianity

“We are passing through a dark tunnel of violence, feeling grief of death and injustice...” -Egyptian Pastor A Muslim suicide bomber blew himself up in this church in Nigeria, killing 38 Christians on Easter Sunday — all too visible proof of the worldwide rise in persecution as detailed in a recent Pew Research Forum study.

Your bridge to the persecuted church.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE JUNE 2012

Rising Restrictions on Religion

From Root to Fruit: Understanding Islam

The Breakdown of Religious Persecution

The Third Wave of Jihad

Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Violent Future

No Rest for Kenya

Nigeria Targeted by Boko Haram

Your Dollars at Work

Studies show that religious persecution is on the rise. It is no surprise that radical Islam is the key player in this trend.

The escalation of Islamic violence against Christians is nothing new. See Islamic violence in a historical context.

A recent Pew Forum survey, along with others, reveal disturbing trends and truths.

While many understand fundamentalist Islam is violent, few understand the extent of the problem because the press will not cover the issue holistically. See Islamic fundamentalist attacks in just the first quarter of 2012 mapped out.

Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parliament is now controlled by Islamic radicals who are calling for the new constitution to be based on Sharia law. Christians are fleeing the rising attacks.

Somalian Christians left their homeland for religiously-tolerant Kenya, or so they thought. Al-Shabaab has been recruiting by force and intimidation, and even kidnapping children.

Boko Haram has promised to continue its terror campaign until Sharia law is imposed and Christianity is wiped out. Find out why Nigeria has the most underreported violence against Christians in the world.

With the help of our amazing donors, ICC has been supporting broadcasting efforts throughout the world that sends the Gospel into the heart of the Muslim world through sattellite tv, web, radio and television.

letter froM THE

President

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (the nation’s foremost research group on religious trends) recently released a study on religious restrictions by world governments as well as religiousbased societal strife. The bottom line for us? The problem is getting worse! In our opinion, the root cause of rising religious restriction (and persecution) can largely be pinned on the expansion of radical Islam funded by the Saudi Arabians. We will attempt to give you an understanding of what the Saudis do, as well as a historical context for Islamic violence so you can place modern Islamic fundamentalist movements and attacks into the whole of Islam. We will show you data, statistics, and lists detailing the problem. But that makes me think of something Lenin once said: “One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.” Statistics and dry data do not communicate the tragedy of the death of the individual persecuted Christian. Therefore, we will end this issue with three real-life examples of attacks against Christians. Please join me in serving these bruised and battered children of the Father, standing in harm’s way. Working as your hands and feet, we will bandage their wounds, take care of their widows and children, love on them, teach them, and defend them. As we do that, we will do it efficiently, ethically, and effectively. I promise.

Jeff King President, International Christian Concern

Rising Restrictions

Religion on

In August 2011, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life published the results of a 2006–2009 study on the status of government restrictions on religion and religious-based social strife around the world (“Rising Restrictions on Religion,” August, 2011). The study reveals that restrictions on religious beliefs and practices rose in 23 of the world’s 198 countries representing 2.2 billion people (onethird of the world’s population) who experienced “greater government restrictions on religion or an increase in social hostilities involving religion” (www.pewforum.org). If you look at which countries are increasing their religious restrictions, you see a glaring trend that Pew declined to focus on: the great majority of populous countries that increased their religious restrictions are Islamic. This isn’t headline-worthy news for those who follow persecution news, but it’s wonderful to see the world’s foremost religous polling and research group provide evidence for those who sense rising persecution. The bottom line that we see in the data is that we are in a growth industry, and the driver of persecution growth is Islam. To understand Islam’s role in persecution, you have to understand two things: Muhammad and the Saudis:

Muhammad Muhammad was a violent man and he used violence and war to establish and expand Islam. He told his followers, “Fight against them (non-Muslims) until idolatry is no more and Allah’s religion reigns supreme.” Essentially, he was a warlord who started a religious movement that used war and threat of war to expand. He said that Allah had told him it was lawful for he and his followers to steal, pillage, and kill pagans in order to defend and, more importantly, to build Islam. He called this jihad. Jihad is mentioned 41 times in the Quran and the great majority of those references reveal jihad to be the use of

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ISlam’s TWO Worlds

Muhammad said the world was divided into two camps—one in which Islam ruled (the house of peace) and one in which Islam did not rule (the house of war). Jihad is Islam’s permanent state of war against the house of war until the whole world submits to Islam and Muhammad.

violence to subjugate non-Muslims. (Muslim apologists will say that jihad means “inner striving for Godliness.”)

Centuries of Jihad Against Hindus Muhammad initiated and participated in many bloody raids. After Muhammad’s death, the Caliphs that ruled Islam followed his example of jihad at a mind boggling level. Many historians estimate that Islam killed between 40 and 60 million people in centuries of jihad against the Hindus of what is now India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The flow of blood and death that the Muslim attackers recorded defies description. Islam’s expansion into Europe was halted in Spain in the 700s. After the fall of the Ottoman empire (WWII), expansive, State-sponsored jihad went to sleep (ending the second wave of jihad).

saudi arabia Beginning in the 1970s, massive oil wealth began to flow into Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states. The Saudis have used $100+ billion of this massive inflow of wealth to ex-

pand Wahabbi Islam and to radicalize the world’s moderate Muslims via the establishment and/or funding of radical Islamic military, religious, and political movements. This is the historic third wave of Islamic jihad.

Persecution Spreads Beyond the Middle East Most people are only familiar with the rise of the military arms of this jihad (such as Al-Qaeda) and fail to see the issue holistically. Decades of Saudi efforts are resulting in the expansion of radical/fundamentalist Islam to spread beyond the Middle East into predominantly Christian nations within Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The obvious result? A rise in Christian persecution.

East Africa In Kenya, Christians are being terrorized by deadly grenade attacks by Saudi-financed al-Shabaab militants from Somalia; in Uganda, Christians are living in one of the world’s most populated religiously-restricted countries, in Tanzania, Christians face severe persecution in Muslim Zanzibar. In Ethiopia, a Saudi-educated former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity told ICC, “On the road from my home to [the capital], you see a mosque every 1/2 mile. Where does that money come from? The community is poor and can’t build these huge mosques. They can’t offer a single shilling…the money comes from Saudi Arabia.”

Nigeria & North Africa In Nigeria, al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram has reportedly been responsible for more than 13,000 deaths, mostly Christian, since 2000. In North Africa, The Arab spring has given way to a Christian winter. Islamists who were once contained under the firm grip of autocratic rulers have now gained political and religious freedom and stand ready to impose a strict brand of Islam and Sharia over the whole of Arab society. In Egypt, Salafis (Saudi-flavored Muslims) wave Saudi flags in protests calling for more militant Islamic governance. Since the revolution, Salafi mobs have attacked several churches and killed scores of Christians. They now hold 25 percent of the seats in Egypt’s parliament. There is no question among Egyptians where Salafi funding comes from: Saudi Arabia.

the third wave of jihad: saudi arabia Massive funding of military / religious / political movements to expand radical islam around the world

religious RAdical Mosques & Boarding Schools isna (islamic society of north america) funds and controls 70 percent of u.s. mosques NAIT (North American Islamic Trust)

political the muslim brotherhood | egypt egyptian salafists | egypt cair | u.s. hamas | palestinian areas oic (organization of the islamic conference)

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from root to fruit Understanding Islam

We are told that we will know a tree by the fruit it bears. To understand the whole of the tree, you must know it root structure. Fundamentalist or radical Islamic violence makes sense once you understand the roots of Islam-its founder Muhammad.

There have been three great waves of Islamic jihad and we are presently in the third wave, funded and made possible by the trillions of dollars of oil revenues that have flowed into the Middle East since the 1970s. For 40 years, the Saudi Arabians have spent $100+ billion of this wealth to spread Islam and to radicalize the world’s moderate Muslims.

His wiring, personality, and methods were encoded into Islam’s holy books, the Quran and Hadith. Since his death, every new generation of Muslims has faced a call to fundamentalism, to go back to Muhammad’s methods and commands: the forceful subjugation of non-Islamic societies, or, jihad.

This investment has reaped death and bloodshed around the world. Ominously, the Saudis control 70 percent of North American mosques through their funding arm, the “Islamic Society of North America.”

muhammad Born: 570 Died 632

quran + hadith

Age 43: starts sharing his teachings: the core is that God is one (as opposed to the polytheistic culture) and Muhammad was Allah’s prophet.

As the founder, Muhammad’s wiring, methods and his design of Islam as a religious, political and military system were encoded into Islam via the Quran and Hadith: Islam’s two holy books.

After 13 years, only has only 100 followers. He then receives a new revelation from Allah: he and his followers could forcibly subjugate non-believers and confiscate their riches as well as their loved ones for slaves.

Key Doctrines/Teachings (direct and derivative)

623 AD: Islam morphs from a religion to political/religious system (Muhammad combines theology with rules for Islamic State, for military conquest, and civil rules). Engaged to his favorite wife when she was six. Married her (and consummated) when she was nine and he was 51. In the “battle of the trench” he personally kills, or orders the beheadings of 500+ captured Jews. Personally orders the assassination of several detractors. Just as Christians strive to emulate Jesus and see his life as perfect, so it is with Muslims. His person and life are seen as perfect and to emulated by Muslims. He is the embodiment of Allah’s will.

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Islam is a more than a religion. It is a religious/civil/military System. Apostasy: those who leave Islam are to be killed if they do not repent. Blasphemy: Those who deny Muhammad as Allah’s ordained prophet are to be killed. Jihad: Deadly force can be used to subjugate non-Islamic societies/States/cultures. The riches and humans captured are all the property of the conquerors. During Muhammad’s time, he received 20 percent of all spoils of war. Dhimmitude: rules for conquered peoples that do not become Muslims. Designed to humiliate and slowly strangle competing faiths of conquered peoples. Taqiyya/Kitman: Denial of your religion is approved to protect your life. Deception can/should be used in offensive and defensive wars of Islam.

FIRST WAVE

613 AD – 632 AD

second WAVE

third WAVE

1970s – present

632 AD – 1918 AD

Muhammad’s First Battle to his Death

Death of Muhammad to Fall of Ottoman Empire

Modern Era

Muhammad ordered/observed at least 27 battles during his life and personally participated in at least nine of them

634 A.D. Jerusalem is invaded

Orders assassination of several detractors

641 A.D. Egypt, Iran and Iraq are conquered

Beginning in the 1970s, Saudi Arabia starts to receive massive revenue from sale of oil. Saudis view themselves as the guardian and keeper of pure Islam; they see their oil wealth as God’s blessing to be used to advance Islam

In 622 A.D. Muhammad gains control of Medina and establishes a charter/constitution for his rule of Medina; this marks the morphing of Islam from a religion into a religious/military/civil hybrid

100 years after Muhammad’s death, Islam spreads into Spain

From 622 A.D. to 632 A.D. Muhammad spent most of this time conquering Mecca; by the time of his death, Islam ruled the Saudi Arabian peninsula

600+ years of brutal war against Hindu peoples; leading historians put death toll as high as 60 million

636 A.D. Syria falls

732 A.D. Islam’s advance into Europe is halted by Charles Martel (Battle of Tours)

Since the 1970s the Saudi government has spent $100+ billion building and funding fundamentalist Islamic organizations or movements that have either religious, military and/or political goals, but are all designed to expand radical Islam and bring the whole world into submission to Allah and his prophet, Muhammad

Collapse of Ottoman Empire; during WWI, expansive State-sponsored jihad sleeps

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breaking down

persecution Pew’s survey (“Rising Restrictions on Religion,” 2011) as well as other polls detail several disturbing trends.

From 2006-2009, Christians were persecuted in

130 COUNTRIES

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

How Christians are Persecuted:

harassment

property damage

displaced from home

physical assault

detention & prison

death

Social:

government:

Social:

2009: when church members tried to clean off hate-speech graffitied on their church, they were attacked by armed men in Pakistan.

2008: around 4,000 Christian homes and 400 churches were destroyed by Hindu radicals within two months in India.

2006-2009: hundreds of thousands of Christians fled Iraq due to constant killings and harassments by the citizens.

2008: a 75-year-old man was shot in the head as an angry Muslim mob burned over 100 Christian homes in Pakistan.

2009: two young women spent 255 days in prison for converting to Christianity in Iran.

2006: over 50 Christians were killed by Muslim radicals within a few days in Northern Nigeria.

government:

2006: anti-riot police demolished an “illegal” house church in China.

2006: thousands of Christans were forced to flee their homes when Bhuddist Burmese military forces burned down their villiage.

2009: pastor trying to protect his church was thrown from the second-story window by a government-sponsored gang in Vietnam.

government: 2009: a woman was publicly executed for distributing copies of the Bible in North Korea.

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, www.worthynews.com, www.christianpost.com, www.echurchwebsites.org, www.asianews.it, www.rightsidenews.com, www.nytimes.com

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In a 2006 survey among British Muslims:

40% 23%

of 58 islamic-majority nations, only 4 are considered “democratic,”

pakistan

malaysia

of british muslims wanted sharia law in the U.k.

indonesia

bangladesh Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

were in favor of the 2005 london tube bombings that resulted in 56 deaths and 700 wounded 2006 Sunday Telegraph Survey of British Muslims

In a 2007 Pew poll among U.S. Muslims:

61 percent

two-thirds were concerned about the rise of radical islam in the u.s.

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

11 out of the top 14 countries with rising government religious restrictions were Muslim egypt france algeria uganda malaysia yemen syria somalia serbia tajikistan hong kong libya kyrgyzstan qatar

number of countries where religious terrorist groups are active. the great majority of these movements are ISlamic.

Half violence

Half recruitment

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

number of countries where restrictions on religious beliefs and practices increased

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

that accounts for 2.2 billion people, or one-third of the world’s population

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

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Turkey

pew numbers THE THIRD WAVE of

JIHAD

France

1 INJURED Norway

2 INJURE Belgium

1 INJURED 645 KILLED Iraq

5 KILLED Syria Lebanon

1 KILLED

93 KILLED

Israel

2 INJURED

Morocco

1 KILLED Algeria

5 KILLED

Mali

This map details Islamic fundamentalist attacks for only the first quarter of 2012. At the core of the rising trend of religious restriction and attacks against Christians is fundamentalist Islam. While most people understand that fundamentalist Islam is problematic and violent, few understand the extent of the problem because the press will not cover the issue holistically due to political correctness. *Information gathered from www.religionofPeace.com

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1 KILLED

Nigeria

677 KILLED Egypt

5 KILLED Sudan

5 KILLED

Tajikistan

Azerbiajan

D 2 KILLED

Afghanistan

1 KILLED

Russia

2 KILLED

224 KILLED

China

13 KILLED Pakistan

497 KILLED India

3 KILLED Yemen

517 KILLED

Bangladesh

Philippines

1 KILLED

18 KILLED

Thailand

73 KILLED

Saudi Arabia

1 KILLED Indonesia Somalia

130 KILLED

4 KILLED

Kenya

54 KILLED

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EGYPT’S

Violent Future

As Islamic-dominated parliament initiates a new constitution, believers are fleeing the country to escape anti-Christian attacks. The tear gas was blinding that night in Maspero. It burned the eyes and slowed the ability to react. People ran, aimlessly and horrified, but they had nowhere to go. Armored military vehicles veered uncontrollably into crowded streets. Gunfire crackled from overpasses and showered the roadways. And peaceful protestors dropped to the ground—swept and crushed beneath the tires of tanks or by a bullet to the head or chest. “The area turned to darkness. All of a sudden there was shooting and people were running,” said Mary Ibrahim Daniel, a Christian activist who had marched with thousands of other Egyptians from Shubra to Maspero in Cairo on October 9, 2011. “The guy next to me fell from a bullet to the neck. My sister and I were almost hit by a tank. People were screaming. We could hardly see because of the tear gas. The street was covered with blood. Many were dying, but we couldn’t help them or else we would die too.”

Near Mary, but not within sight, stood her brother, Mina. He was a known activist in Egypt and attended many demonstrations, but he had never witnessed anything like this before. However, Mina would see little of the violence that unfolded that night. Instead, he was among the first killed. “After I got shot and went to the hospital I saw Mina on the floor at the morgue,” Wagih Yacoub, a Coptic human rights activist, told ICC between deep breaths of exhaustion and pain the morning after the attack. “I was just with him a few hours ago, laughing and talking. And then I just saw him lying there… I don’t know what to say. He was my friend.” Mina was shot and instantly killed by a sniper’s bullet. He was only one of 26 Christians killed that evening which protestors dubbed “Bloody Sunday.” The initially peaceful demonstration denouncing the destruction of a church by a Muslim mob a week earlier was met by the worst violence

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in Egypt since President Mubarak’s ouster from power in February 2011. “The people want to bring down the Christians,” chanted hundreds of armed Islamists who had ascended onto the streets following the demonstration. “Islamic! Islamic!” they continued shouting into the night. Many Muslims in Egypt and throughout the Middle East will always remember 2011 as the year that long-standing dictators were deposed and greater political rights and free speech were realized. For Christians, however, the year fondly labeled as the “Arab Spring” has brought only hardship. Religious freedom was far from the minds of most revolutionaries, and Christians now find they are the targets of widespread and merciless violence. Only months prior to “Bloody Sunday,” an armed Muslim mob had broken into Virgin Mary Church in the poor Cairo district of

Egyptian Christians gather in Tahrir Square to peacefully protest the destruction of a church by a Muslim mob.

Imbaba and set the building ablaze in another horrific attack in May 2011. “We don’t talk—the church screams for itself... everything was burned,” said Rev. Mittias Ilias, the head priest of Virgin Mary Church. It was inside Virgin Mary Church that many of the fifteen victims of the attack were killed. “Salafi Muslims killed one guy in the church by slitting his throat. They killed many inside, and then they torched the church,” an eyewitness told ICC. In all, more than 80 Christians were killed in 2011 as a result of religious-based violence in Egypt which, according to reports, has prompted more than a hundred thousand Christians to seek immigration and leave their homeland permanently. Christians fear that attacks similar to those mentioned will only increase as well-organized Islamist movements capitalize on newly-gained political freedoms. Elections in Egypt have already produced an Islamist-dominated parliament and will likely render an Islamist contender as president in May. Leading the Islamists’ rise to

power is the Muslim Brotherhood and a large Salafi minority. While both groups threaten the religious rights of minorities in Egypt, Christians fear Salafis most.

“Salafis want to apply the laws of early Islam from 1400 years ago in the 21st century. They believe in cutting the hands off people who steal and stoning adulteress women.” -Wagih Yacoub,

Coptic human rights activist “Salafis want to apply the laws of early Islam from 1400 years ago in the 21st century,” said Wagih Yacoub. “They believe in cutting the hands off people who steel and stoning adulteress women. It’s exactly like Saudi Arabia. They are Wahhabis. Salafis are one of the largest threats to Christians

in Egypt. The Brotherhood is also very dangerous, but the difference is that Salafis don’t negotiate. They want to kill.” Most frightening for Christians is that the Brotherhood and Salafis have determined to draft a new constitution centered on Sharia law. In March, the Islamist-dominated parliament appointed 70 Islamist lawmakers to a 100-member constitutional assembly while only appointing six women and six Christians. Most of the women and Christians, along with other secular appointees, withdrew from the panel, saying it was no use because the Islamist majority had already set itself to write a constitution entrenched by Sharia. The institution of Sharia in Egyptian law will further restrict the rights of religious minorities and provide a platform for more anti-Christian attacks. Yet some church leaders refuse to lose hope. “We are passing through a dark tunnel of violence, feeling grief of death and injustice...” said Bishop Thomas of the Coptic Church. “But we are committed to the love that never fails. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.”

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No Rest for

kenya “Stop your harmful ideologies and preaching to the Muslims… Some Somali Muslims are already affected by this cancer of Christianity… they will be under the sword of the mujahedeen [holy worriors]… We know where you are. You will be tried and be given justice before the law of Allah and before the sword of the mujahedeen.” -A Threat to A Christian in Nairobi, as reported to icc

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SOMALI REFUGEES AWAITING AID

“Do whatever you can to protect me,” a Somali Christian pleaded to ICC after reading the threat from al-Shabaab militants. Leaving Somalia for Nairobi, the convert thought he would be safe, but persecution followed him even to the Christian-majority country of Kenya where radical Islam is steadily gaining numbers and influence. Last month, ICC visited Asad*, another Somali who believed Kenya would be a safe haven from the terror he faced as a Christian in Somalia. He was wrong. Walking home one November evening, six Somali Muslims with iron rods and wooden clubs beat Asad unconscious and left him for dead outside the gate of a neighborhood church. “When I reached the scene of the attack, my son was lying naked in a pool of blood. The attackers had covered my son all over with dirt,” Asad’s mother told ICC. From the Nairobi suburb of Eastleigh, which is referred to by Somalis as “little Mogadishu,” radical Islam led by al-Shabaab (a Somali Islamist terrorist network with ties to al-Qaeda) is steadily securing a stronghold. From Eastleigh, Islamic terrorists plot attacks against Kenyan churches and Somali Christian converts like Asad. The impoverished community has also become a recruiting ground for waging jihad and providing dispensable bodies to fight—or die—for the reign of warlords or militant Islamic groups in Somalia. In Eastleigh, al-Shabaab treats its wounded and runs madrassas, from which children often disappear.

“Those who kill people in Somalia are here, scattered all over the place. This is the hotspot of Somali fundamentalism... They are recruiting right here in Nairobi.” -local Muslim sheikh Only one church remains standing in Eastleigh—all the others have been bulldozed to the ground. At several sites, where churches once stood, ornate mosques have now been erected in their place. Though the largely Somali immigrant community has little money, funding for the mosques and the suburb’s development is known to come from outside sources. “Everything here in Eastleigh is like a dream, like fiction,” said Imam Hussein, a Christian convert and Ethiopian refugee who moved to Eastleigh after fleeing persecution in his home town. “Yesterday they start some building, after one month, maybe two months, you cannot imagine, the buildings and mosques are complete in a very unique way. Most people here are refugees, how

Al-Shabaab, a terrorist network that is linked to al-Qaeda, is gaining control over Nairobi by attacking Christian churches and recruiting members. Even children are at risk, who often disappear from al-Shabaab-run madrassas, a type of boarding school.

can they afford it? They can’t, but its religious money… Islamic money coming from Saudi Arabia.” In recent months, immigrant Somali Muslim extremists have broadened their murderous campaign by not only attacking Somali converts, but Kenyan Christians as well. In November, Somalis threw a grenade into a church compound in Garissa, killing two Christians, including an eight-year-old girl. In March, another grenade was hurled at a group of Christians in Mtwapa, killing two and injuring 30. And on April 29, a man pretending to be a worshipper detonated a grenade during a Sunday morning church service in Nairobi, killing a young man and injuring 16. Al-Shabaab, is believed to be responsible for the attacks. “What we as the church are almost certain of at the moment is that the incident seemed to be a religious fight against Christians,” a pastor from Mtwapa told Compass Direct News. The Kenyan government has responded by sending troops into neighboring Somalia to fight al-Shabaab militants following the murder and kidnappings of tourists on Kenyan soil last year. In turn, al-Shabaab has threatened more attacks in Kenya until the troops withdraw. The direct targeting of churches and Christian groups is not merely political, however, but derives from alShabaab’s fundamental Islamic agenda to frighten and kill Christians wherever they are found. “We will soon strike the cursed Seventh-day* church’s headquarters if they do not stop Christianizing Somalis and we will strike the Sudanese Interior Mission who put Somali translated Bibles on their Web site and who are proud to Christianize the Somali people,” continued the letter from al-Shabaab to the Somali Christian convert. “We ask Allah to help us make his purpose reign... We are reaching millions of youth to join our jihad against the enemy of Islam and to terrorize by any means we can to make them understand that they are nothing but lowly infidels.”

Believing Kenya would be a safere fuge, Asad (right) relocated, only to be attacked and left for dead outslide his church. ICC was able to help with medical expenses.

*Names have been changed for security.

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Thirty-eight people were killed by a suicide bomber who was refused access in this church.

nigeria targeted by boko haram

At 9:30 A.M. Easter Sunday a blast was heard. Windows shattered, walls shook, and Christian worshippers dropped to the floor. For a brief moment, a terrifying void swept through the congregation— the feeling of helpless vulnerability following the realization that the bomb was intended for them. A second later, the immediate silence of shock gave way to panicked frenzy and piercing wails from the maimed and dying. Bodies and limbs littered the street outside Good News Church. Smoke and ash rose from burning vehicles veiling another terrorist slaughter from the morning’s light. The April 8 attack on Christians in Kaduna, Nigeria killed 38 people. A suicide bomber, who was refused entry into the church compound, detonated the explosives on a nearby street instead. The perpetrators, an Islamic terrorist network called Boko Haram, released a statement, stating: “We will create so much effort to end the Christian presence in our push to have a proper Islamic state that Christians won’t be able to stay.” And that is exactly what Boko Haram is doing. “It was five or ten minutes after the first service and suddenly this boom!” said Uche Bonaventure, a witness of a Christmas bombing at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla that took 44 lives. “The explosion threw me on this side and my son was hurled across the other side. Around me I could see bodies on fire.” “There was a car filled with dead bodies. Apparently it was a family coming to worship in the church,” said Alkasim Abdulkadir, a freelance journalist.

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A family was attacked during dinner. Four women and one 6-yearold were killed.

who is attacking Boko Haram (meaning “Western Education is a Sin”) has promised to continue its terror campaign until Sharia law is imposed throughout Nigeria and the country is ridden of Christians. After formalizing ties with al-Qaeda in June 2010, Boko Haram bombed the U.N. headquarters in Abuja, killing 18 in August, and coordinated 23 bombings in Kano that killed more than 185 on January 20. The group has warned that more attacks will follow. “I am not against anyone, but if Allah asks me to kill someone, I will kill him and I will enjoy killing him like I am killing a chicken,” Imam Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, said in a January 25 video posting on YouTube.

With more than 1,000 deaths every year, the killings in Nigeria may be the most underreported violence against Christians anywhere in the world.

Outraged by the election of a Christian president last April, radical Muslims (with Boko Haram at the core) stepped up a terror campaign to ensure the region is ungovernable unless a Muslim is in power. The damage in Bauchis State in April alone totaled:

30 people dead

Christians make up roughly 50 percent of Nigeria’s 160 million people and predominantly live in the south. However, there are also millions of Christians living in the north under state governments dominated by Muslims and ruled by Sharia law. Since Sharia was implemented in 2000, over 13,000 mostly Christian Nigerians have been killed in religious-related violence, according to estimates by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. With more than 1,000 deaths every year, the killings in Nigeria may be the most underreported violence against Christians anywhere in the world. In April 2011 alone, 92 churches and 104 Christian homes were destroyed and more than 30 were killed in Bauchi State. Another 409 churches were destroyed and 137 killed in Kaduna State the same month. April’s violence sparked when the nomination of Nigeria’s Christian president Goodluck Jonathan inflamed Muslim rioters who in turn attacked churches and killed any Christian within sight.

92 churches destroyed

“Thirteen churches here were attacked and many homes burned, five Igbo Christians were killed... a policewoman was beheaded and the killers put her head on her chest,” Pastor Muhamed Dan’Amariya in Bauchi City told World Magazine. “Further north two church women—both Bible study and fellowship leaders—were killed. And in eastern Bauchi… none were spared. There is no church left standing. All Christian homes, all Christian shops ... destroyed.” the fate of nigeria

104 homes destroyed

The darkest days have yet to end for Nigeria’s faithful. A recent message from Boko Haram promised even more attacks, pledging to “bomb and level” 10 Christian denominations and to “eliminate” eight pastors. All the while, Nigerian Christians have resolved not to live in fear, but to trust in the Lord no matter what the cost. Yet for many, persecution has taken its toll and hope is slowly waning. “Shall we continue to suffer in silence? Shall we continue to be the sacrificial lambs on the altar of bigotry of these Islamists?” asked Malachy Gwatiyap, a Christian in Kaduna. “We have suffered enough.”

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Your Dollars at Work For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (nIV)

Top reasons Muslims respond to the broadcasts: Sharing news Greeting Religious questions Sharing testimony Council or advice Bible correspondence courses

omething incredible is happening.

praise and prayer:

The number of converts from the Muslim world to Christianity has exploded over the last 20 years. Broadcasts via radio, satellite TV, and the Web, are scaling the wall that organized Islam has always erected to keep out the Gospel.

praise God for the effectiveness of this outreach

Islam has always ruthlessly crushed any attempts to get the Gospel to the mind of the average Muslim. One of the biggest reasons is that Islam cannot compete in the minds and hearts of searchers with Jesus where there is a choice. As the verse above proclaims, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. If we cannot get through the wall, we will just have to go over it. In that vein, ICC partners with highly effective individuals and ministries that are bringing the Gospel to the closed Muslim world via radio, satellite TV, and the Web. Muslims respond to these broadcasts and request prayer, Bibles, follow up etc. It is only through your generous giving that ICC is able to support this work and scale the wall that Satan has erected to keep Muslims in the dark.

17 | You can help today! www.persecution.org

praise God for faithful servants who risk their life to introduce the Gospel into these dark places praise God for His faithfulness pray that the Muslim listeners would continue to call and ask questions pray that God would reveal Himself to the nations that receive this broadcast pray that God would continue to protect the key individuals involved in these efforts

Afghanistan

iran

For Afghans, coming to faith in Jesus involves a journey of discovery.

“I want to become a Christian.” This is not a conversation that ICC partners hear every day, but when one of the staff members called an Iranian woman, Ishtar*, to give her a New Year’s greeting, it was God’s timing.

Curiousity prompted Naveed* to call the radio call-center early last year, where a staff member talked to him about the importance of reading about the life of Jesus in the Bible. Sometime later, he called to say that he had received a New Testament from a friend; through reading it, God had been working in his life. It was not long before he called again, this time, to say he had decided to follow Jesus and had received him as Savior. In his next call, he said, “Your radio program has changed my life. Now I trust Jesus with all my heart.” Challenges soon came his way. On one occasion, he was very discouraged and confused about the behavior of a friend who also claimed to be a follower of Jesus. Later, news that a friend had been killed followed by the death of his sister from illness plunged him deep into sorrow. The staff spent a lot of time listening as he shared his sorrow, praying with him over the phone. One morning, the radio program focused on a story of Jesus stilling the storm. The man called to say how much it had helped him to face the current challenges of his life. This man has continued correspondence with the program, saying “Life can be difficult, but God is always good.”

Ishtar had been having dreams about Jesus and was eager to give her heart to the Lord. Following her prayer of commitment she cried for joy. She then passed the phone to her cousin who also cried as she witnessed the joy of Ishtar. She continues correspondence to pray for her family members.

Some of the first Quarter results calls to muslims

3,939

= 100 calls

e-mails to muslims

iran Many Christians live in secret in order to save their life. Distressed and alone, Nadir* was hungry for the Lord, His Word and fellowship with other believers. He called one of the broadcast phone numbers and asked to be connected with other believers. A staff member gave him details of a church in his city. The man was incredibly grateful, for he had found the church; he had found a family. What incredible testimonies! These stories are just a sample of the hundreds of people who have been touched by the broadcasts. Your donations are helping to fund these broadcasts that continue to preach God’s Word in areas where people have limited access to the Gospel. Thank you for making it possible! If you would like to help create more stories like Naveed, Ishtar and Nadir, designate your gift as “Where Most Needed” and include a note that says “Broadcast.”

52, 390

= 100 e-mails

face-to-face visits with muslims

117 declared salvations

308

= 10 people

Note: the statistics are given to ICC from ICC ministry partners. The numbers are only those that our partners are aware of, but do not account for all of the Muslims who receive Christ as a result of ICC-supported media broadcasts or through ministries not supported by ICC. Just think of how much more God is doing that we are unaware of! *Names have been changed for security.

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