WEA Religious Liberty Prayer News – February 15, 2012

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
 the God of glory thunders,the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.”
Psalm 29:3-4

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* World Evangelical Alliance is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the Good News of Jesus in their communities. God is glorified and the nations of the earth are forever transformed.

The purpose of the WEA Religious Liberty Prayer Release is to keep you informed and mobilized in prayer and intercession for the needs of justice and religious liberty in the Church around the globe, so that we can stand together for the work of the Kingdom and the healing of the Nations. The Prayer Release is comprised on the basis of different credible Christian based resources.

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Pastor beaten and paraded naked for holding prayer meeting in INDIA^[i]
 

January 27, A pastor and 20 other Christians from New Life Fellowship Church were attacked by Hindu extremists during a prayer meeting in Haliyal, Karnataka.

The mob assaulted Pastor Kalappa Chandrakanth Chavan in the presence of his family, accusing him of forced conversions. He was then stripped of his clothes and paraded around the village. Finally the attackers tied him to a tree near a Hindu temple and contacted the Haliyal Police. Reports further state that the injured Pastor Chandrakanth along with another Christian were admitted to the government hospital for treatment while no police case on the incident was registered.

According to a recent report published by the Evangelical Fellowship of India, Karnataka has been identified as the most unsafe state for Christians, for the 3rd consecutive year.

Prayer points:

* Pray for God’s healing mercy upon Pastor Chandrakanth and all other Christians who were attacked during the incident.
* Pray for Christians at the New Life Fellowship Church that they will stand strong in their faith in spite of recent harassments.
* Pray for protection over all Christians in Karanataka who are being subject to severe persecution.

Christian convert sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in IRAN[ii]

29 January, A Christian convert from Islam was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment by a revolutionary court in Iran. Leila Mohammadi received the sentence after spending 5 months in the infamous Evin prison, according to Iranian news services.  She was first arrested on 30 July 2011 when Iranian police officials raided her home located in Kianshahr, east of Tehran and confiscated her belongings. Mohammadi was later released from Evin Prison on $150,000 bail after spending 74 days of solitary confinement.

During the trial held on 18 January 2012, she was charged with “collaboration with foreign-dependent groups, broad anti-Islamic propaganda, deceiving citizens by formation of what is called a house church, insulting sacred figures and action against national security." However she was acquitted of “collaboration with foreign dependent groups” because the judge ruled that it had been carried out unintentionally.

Almost all activity related to Christianity in the country is illegal and in 2011 more than 200 Christians were arrested and detained in Iran.

Prayer points:

* Pray for the release of Leila Mohommadi.
* Pray that God will strengthen her in this difficult time to stand     firm in her faith.
* Pray for the release and protection all Iranian Christians languishing in prison.

A Christian man and his son shot dead in EGYPT[iii]

6 February, A Christian man and his son were shot dead in Egypt for refusing to pay extortion money to a Muslim racketeer. According to reports the offender who has been kidnapping Christian children for ransom went to the house of Moawad Assad, a building contractor in Nag Hammadi on 26 January to collect money he had demanded 3 days earlier. However when Moawad Assad was asked to get in to the car of the offender to discuss the issue, he refused in fear of being kidnapped. At this point 4 men emerged from the vehicle armed with machine guns and opened fire, killing both Moawad Assad and his 26-year-old son who was an engineer.

The racketeer and his gang have been extorting money from Christians and kidnapping their children for ransom for months and it is reported that 11 Christians were seized between 11 August and 24 December 2011 in Nag Hammadi and neighbouring Farshoot and Bahgoura.

Prayer points:

* Prayer for God's comfort over the grieving family of Moawad Assad.
* Pray for Christians in Nag Hammadi and neighbouring Farshoot and Bahgoura who are facing threats of terror and kidnapping.
* Pray for all Christians in Egypt who are continuously harassed for their faith.

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