Prayer Hub

Iran: Ayatollahs make anti-Christian comments

31 Jan 2013

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, influential figures of the Islamic regime, especially Ayatollahs affiliated with the regime, have frequently tried to provoke government and security authorities to take action against Christians by making negative comments. According to a story by the Iranian Christian news agency Mohabat News, some Ayatollahs have made anti-Christian remarks because one of the greatest concerns of the Islamic clerics in Iran is the growth of Christianity in the county. Mohabat News said by so doing the Ayatollahs hope to decrease the growth of both Christianity and house churches in Iran. According to Mohabat News, in a statement, Ayatollah Noor-Allah Tabarsi, the Friday Prayer Imam in Sari, defamed Christianity and called today’s Christians ‘a shame for Christianity.’ Mohabat News said that Tabarsi, who is also the Supreme Leader's representative in Mazandaran province, claimed that all the corruption in the West was due to the inappropriate application of Christianity.

Pray: for Christians in Iran that they would be protected against the extremes of the Islamic regime.

More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2013/s13010128.htm

 

Egypt: Army chief warns of 'state collapse' amid crisis

31 Jan 2013

Egypt's armed forces chief has warned the current political crisis ‘could lead to a collapse of the state’. General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, in comments posted on the military's Facebook page, said such a collapse could ‘threaten future generations’. He made his statement following a large military deployment in three cities along the Suez Canal where a State of Emergency has been declared. More than 50 people have died in days of protests and violence. In response, President Mohammed Morsi has cut short a planned European trip. On Monday night, thousands of people in Port Said, Ismailyah and Suez - where some of the worst unrest has been - ignored a night-time curfew imposed by Mr Morsi and took to the streets. Thousands were again on the streets of Port Said on Tuesday for the latest funerals of those killed, with mourners calling for the downfall of the president. This Friday marks two years since the first fire of the January 25 Egyptian revolution.

Pray: that the projected unrest for this weekend would not take place and that further unrest ceases.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21241753

 

Israel: Palestinians attack Israeli bus in Jerusalem

31 Jan 2013

A series of Palestinian attacks against Israelis occurred in and around Jerusalem over the weekend, a clear reminder that the tension-wracked capital remains ready to explode despite relative calm in recent months. On Sunday evening, a bus travelling from Jerusalem to a Jewish community just north of the city was damaged in a Palestinian stone-throwing attack. Because the stones managed to penetrate the bullet-proof glass, it was at first reported as a shooting attack. Also on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Israeli security forces in at least three separate incidents caught would-be Arab assailants in possession of pipe bombs. Israeli security officials have noted a significant rise in the number of attacks in and around Jerusalem in recent months, both armed attacks and ‘popular’ attacks, which means the assailants use Molotov cocktails and stones instead of guns and knives.

Pray: for the peace of Jerusalem and that all would live together in peace. (Rom.12:18)

More: http://www.theway.co.uk/feature.php?id=9089&this=Palestinians_attack_Israeli_bus_in_Jerusalem#

 

Yemen: Forgotten Christians

31 Jan 2013

When one thinks of Yemen - the impoverished Arab country that begat Osama bin Laden, and is cushioned between Saudi Arabia and Somalia, (with the Bay of Aden between) two of the absolute most radical Muslim nations - one seldom thinks of Christians, primarily because they are practically nonexistent in such an inhospitable environment. Most tallies, in fact, suggest that Yemen's entire non-Muslim population is less than one percent. A new Arabic report , however, discusses the existence of Christians in Yemen, and their plight - one that should be familiar by now, given the situation wherever Christian minorities live under a Muslim majority. Unofficial statistics suggest that there are some 2,500 indigenous Christians in the nation, practicing their faith underground even as hostile tribes surround them. According to human rights activist, Abdul Razzaq al-Azazi, ‘Christians in Yemen cannot practice their religion nor can they go to church freely. Society would work on having them enter Islam.’

Pray: for our brothers and sisters in Christ that they would be protected from hostile beliefs. (Lk.2:14)

More: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3563/yemen-christians