Letter from Yousef

07 May 2012
Greetings from your servant and younger brother in Christ, Youcef Nadarkhani.
To: All those who are concerned and worried about my current situation.
First, I would like to inform all of my beloved brothers and sisters that I am in perfect health in the flesh and spirit. And I try to have a little different approach from others to these days, and consider it as the day of exam and trial of my faith. And during these days which are hard in order to prove your loyalty and sincerity to God, I am trying to do the best in my power to stay right with what I have learned from God’s commandments.
I need to remind my beloveds, though my trial due has been so long, and as in the flesh I wish these days to end, yet I have surrendered myself to God’s will.
I am neither a political person nor do I know about political complicity, but I know that while there are many things in common between different cultures, there are also differences between these cultures around the world which can result in criticism, which most of the times response to this criticisms will be harsh and as a result will lengthen our problems.
From time to time I am informed about the news which is spreading in the media about my current situation, for instance being supported by various churches and famous politicians who have asked for my release, or campaigns and human rights activities which are going on against the charges which are applied to me. I do believe that these kind of activities can be very helpful in order to reach freedom, and respecting human rights in a right way can bring forth positive results.
I want to appreciate all those are trying to reach this goal. But at the other hand, I’d like to announce my disagreement with the insulting activities [public burning of Korans by a pastor in Florida] which cause stress and trouble, which unfortunately are done with the justification (excuse) of defending human rights and freedom, for the results are so clear and obvious for me.
I try to be humble and obedient to those who are in power, obedience to those in authority which God has granted to the officials of my country, and pray for them to rule the country according to the will of God and be successful in doing this. For I know in this way I have obeyed God’s word. I try to obey along with those whom I see in a common situation with me. They never had any complaint, but just let the power of God be manifested in their lives, and though sometimes we read that they have used this right to defend themselves, for they had this right, I am not an exception as well and have used all possibilities and so forth and am waiting for the final result.
So I ask all the beloved ones to pray for me as the holy word has said. At the end I hope my freedom will be prepared as soon as possible, as the authorities of my country will do with free will according to their law and commandments which are answerable to.
May God’s Grace and Mercy be upon you now and forever. Amen.
Youcef Nadarkhani

Asia Bibi October 2014

Asia Bibi October 2014

Pakistan is a perennial recipient of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars. It’s an occasional ally/frequent enemy, sometimes actively conspiring against U.S. interests, sometimes actually firing on U.S. troops (incidents so notorious they now have their own Wikipedia page), and — of course — it’s the home of increasingly virulent jihadist extremism. And, no, this extremism isn’t confined to the fringes of Pakistani society but is sometimes even manifested in its appellate courts.
Last week, a Pakistani court of appeals upheld Asia Bibi’s death sentence for blasphemy. She’s a Christian and a mother of five.
Death. For allegedly saying bad things about Mohammed.
Barbaric.
Not that it matters (one should be able to freely insult the prophet of Islam without fear of death), but there’s evidence that even the inherently illegitimate blasphemy charge is trumped-up nonsense. Here’s Asia Bibi describing the incident in her own words. The story begins with Bibi taking a drink of water, then offering the cup to her Muslim neighbors:

Then I start to hear muttering. I pay no attention and fill the cup again, this time holding it out to a woman next to me who looks like she’s in pain. She smiles and reaches out . . . At exactly the moment Musarat pokes her ferrety nose out from the bush, her eyes full of hate: “Don’t drink that water, it’s haram!”
Musarat addresses all the pickers, who have suddenly stopped work at the sound of the word “haram,” the Islamic term for anything forbidden by God.
“Listen, all of you, this Christian has dirtied the water in the well by drinking from our cup and dipping it back several times. Now the water is unclean and we can’t drink it! Because of her!”
It’s so unfair that for once I decide to defend myself and stand up to the old witch.
“I think Jesus would see if differently from Mohammed.”
Musarat is furious. “How dare you think for the Prophet, you filthy animal!”

The story then moves into the familiar demand for conversion:

“That’s right, you’re just a filthy Christian! You’ve contaminated our water and now you dare speak for the Prophet! Stupid bitch, your Jesus didn’t even have a proper father, he was a bastard, don’t you know that.”
Musarat comes over as though she’s going to hit me and yells: “You should convert to Islam to redeem yourself for your filthy religion.”
I feel a pain deep inside. We Christians have always stayed silent: We’ve been taught since we were babies never to say anything, to keep quiet because we’re a minority. But I’m stubborn too and now I want to react, I want to defend my faith. I take a deep breath and fill my lungs with courage.
“I’m not going to convert. I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. What did your Prophet Mohammed ever do to save mankind? And why should it be me that converts instead of you?”

Bibi’s act of defiance is rewarded with physical assault, an assault that days later grows more sinister:

Five days later, I went to work fruit picking in another field. I’ve almost filled my bowl when I hear what sounds like a rioting crowd. I step back from my bush, wondering what’s going on, and in the distance I see dozens of men and women striding along towards our field, waving their arms in the air.
I catch the cruel eyes of Musarat. Her expression is self-righteous and full of scorn. I shiver as I suddenly realize that she hasn’t let it go. I can tell she’s out for revenge. The excited crowd are closer now; they are coming into the field and now they’re standing in front of me, threatening and shouting.
“Filthy bitch! We’re taking you back to the village! You insulted our Prophet! You’ll pay for that with your life!”
They all start yelling:
“Death! Death to the Christian!”
The angry crowd is pressing closer and closer around me. I’m half lying on the ground when two men grab me by the arms to drag me away. I call out in a desperate, feeble voice:
“I haven’t done anything! Let me go, please! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

When a young mullah intervenes, he is explicit: Convert or die.

“If you don’t want to die,” says the young mullah, “you must convert to Islam. Are you willing to redeem yourself by becoming a good Muslim?”
Sobbing, I reply:
“No, I don’t want to change my religion. But please believe me, I didn’t do what these women say, I didn’t insult your religion. Please have mercy on me.”
I put my hands together and plead with him. But he is unmoved.
“You’re lying! Everyone says you committed this blasphemy and that’s proof enough. Christians must comply with the law of Pakistan, which forbids any derogatory remarks about the holy Prophet. Since you won’t convert and the Prophet cannot defend himself, we shall avenge him.”

This is a nation with a nuclear arsenal, that flies dozens of F-16s supplied by the United States, and is an alleged partner in our war on terror. But it’s a nation that sentences mothers to death simply because they’re Christians who refuse to deny Christ — even in the face of an angry, violent mob.
Bibi is appealing to Pakistan’s highest court, a process that could take years. In the meantime, how many more billions of American dollars will subsidize this savagery? I fully recognize there are good and noble members of Pakistani society — our European Centre for Law and Justice has an affiliate in Pakistan that is staffed with courageous lawyers who’ve saved many Christian lives — but it’s past time for our government to insist that our alleged allies behave in a manner that not only advances U.S. interests but also protects the most basic of human rights of Pakistan’s persecuted Christian minority.
We simply cannot tolerate jihadist extremism. Yet we do, again and again — even subsidizing and arming it. And how are we rewarded for this appeasement and forbearance?
With more sharia; with more jihad.
And with more Christian mothers facing the hangman’s noose.

ACLJ.ORG

Asia Bibi October 2014

A committed Christian.  A mother of five.  A loving wife.  A servant of all.
But will she also be a martyr?
That’s Asia Bibi.  She’s been sentenced to death by hanging under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.  She was targeted as a member of the sole Christian family in her small Pakistani village.  She was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – for supposedly speaking against the prophet Muhammad.
Last week an appeals court in Lahore, Pakistan upheld her execution sentence.
Here’s how this valiant Christian woman describes her plight, in her own words:

I’m the victim of a cruel, collective injustice.
I’ve been locked up, handcuffed and chained, banished from the world and waiting to die. I don’t know how long I’ve got left to live. Every time my cell door opens my heart beats faster. My life is in God’s hands and I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. It’s a brutal, cruel existence. But I am innocent. I’m guilty only of being presumed guilty. I’m starting to wonder whether being a Christian in Pakistan today is not just a failing, or a mark against you, but actually a crime.
But though I’m kept in a tiny, windowless cell, I want my voice and my anger to be heard. I want the whole world to know that I’m going to be hanged for helping my neighbor. I’m guilty of having shown someone sympathy. What did I do wrong? I drank water from a well belonging to Muslim women, using “their” cup, in the burning heat of the midday sun.
I, Asia Bibi, have been sentenced to death because I was thirsty. I’m a prisoner because I used the same cup as those Muslim women, because water served by a Christian woman was regarded as unclean by my stupid fellow fruit-pickers.
That day, June 14, 2009, is imprinted on my memory.

It’s as simple and devastating as that.  For five years, she’s been imprisoned on death row over a cup of water.  But what’s really at issue here is her Christian faith.
To her radical Islamic community and under Shariah law in Pakistan, her Christian faith is her “crime.”  It’s her death sentence.
Her family is in hiding, fearing for their lives.  In addition to the death sentence, Asia Bibi has a price on her head.  A radical cleric has implored the Taliban to carry out her execution sentence before the Pakistani government does.  Two Pakistani government officials who have spoken out on her behalf are now dead, murdered in cold blood for standing up for her human rights.
This atrocity cannot stand.  No one – anywhere – should ever be put to death because of their religious beliefs.
All of us who have the freedom to speak out have the responsibility to speak out.  It’s incumbent upon all of us to demand her freedom.
Though she has one final appeal at Pakistan’s Supreme Court, it is often public pressure and not a legal argument that wins freedom in these cases.
We’ve seen it in the case of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani who is now free from a death sentence in Iran for his Christian faith, and we saw it just a couple of months ago with another Christian mom freed from death row in Sudan.  Meriam Ibrahim had been convicted and sentenced to death for her Christian faith, much like what Asia Bibi is now facing.  Meriam is now free because of the international outcry of hundreds of thousands around the world.
It’s time to raise our voices once again and #FreeBibi.  In just 24 hours, over 100,000 people have signed that ACLJ’s petition for Asia Bibi’s freedom at BeHeardProject.com.
Were mobilizing through our international offices, in Pakistan itself, here in Washington, and at the United Nations demanding her release.  We must pray, but we must also act.  Asia Bibi must not be allowed to die for being a Christian.

ACLG.ORG

Saeed Abedini

Please pray for the unconditional release of Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini from the worst prison in Iran. Pastor Saeed's wife, Naghmeh, along with Jay Sekulow, is to testify before Congress tomorrow and present a petition to request the President, Secretary of State, and Congress to use all diplomatic means to press for Saeed's  release. They hope to have 500,00 signatures-- as of now they have 493,243. If you have not already, would you please consider signing the on-line petition at www.savesaeed.org as well as praying for God's help and favor on Naghmeh as she goes before Congress tomorrow?

Joel Shrum killed:

 From CBN News, we find this amazing story! Praise the Lord for Joel Shrum's testimony!

Protestors and young students in Yemen are demanding justice for Joel Shrum, the American English teacher executed by terrorists this week in the city of Taiz.

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the killing, accusing Shrum of trying to convert Muslims.

Meanwhile, the people Shrum devoted his life to are demanding the murderers be caught and tried.

Hundreds of young protesters marched in honor of their teacher this week, holding posters that read "We Love You, Joel."

The young Yemenis said Shrum was gunned down in his car for no good reason. He had worked in the Islamic nation for the past two years, teaching poor people English and vocational skills.

"Mr. Joel came all the way from the United States of America, having nothing but good intentions to help and teach the people of Taiz. And I believe he did nothing to be killed for," one young student said in English, in a video of the protest posted on YouTube.

However, terrorists in the country claim Shrum was proselytizing, and had to be killed. On Mar. 18, two gunmen in military uniforms rode up alongside his car and opened fire, killing the 29-year-old on his way to work at the International Training & Development Centre. Shrum's killers remain at large.

"And I can say that he was kind, peaceful, loving, helping, and he was helping everybody at the Institute," the young protester said.

Shrum is survived by his wife and two young boys, who moved with him to Yemen in 2009.

"I just have one question for those terrorists. What did you achieve now? What is your goal now? Are you satisfied? Are you happy? Congratulations," one woman cried out on camera.

The United States has condemned the attack, calling it a "terrorist act."

Meanwhile, the Yemenis Shrum impacted are mourning the loss of their beloved teacher and friend.

"He came all the way and chose to live in Taiz because he loved Taiz and he loved the people of Taiz," the young man said in the video.

"He was there when we needed their help, and the pay off for that guy was to kill him in that heinous way," he said.

The Institute has since shut down while it assesses the security of its workers. 

In Christ, Mary Bethany

Alimujiang Yimiti’s, China

Location: China
Arrested: February 2008
Days Imprisoned: 637


In September 2007 Chinese government officials closed Alimujiang Yimiti’s business and accused him of using it as a cover up for “preaching Christianity among people of Uyghur ethnicity.” He was later arrested in January 2008 and accused of “subversion of the national government and endangering national security,” a crime punishable by death.

Alimujiang, a former Muslim, became a Christian more than 10 years ago and has been an active Christian in the growing Uyghur church.

On May 27, Alimujiang’s case went to trial. His case was referred back to the Chinese Public Security Bureau’s prosecutors due to “insufficient evidence.” He remains in custody.

A Brief Overview of the Case:
On Sept. 13, 2007, the Kashi Municipal Bureau for Ethnic and Religious Affairs of Xinjiang stated: “Since 2002, Alimujiang Yimiti has been engaging, in the name of employment, in activities of illegal religious infiltration which include preaching Christianity among the people of Uyghur ethnicity, distributing religious materials and converting Christians.”

However, on Jan. 12, 2008, the Kashi Municipal Public Security Bureau placed Alimujiang on criminal detention on the two charges of “suspicion of inciting people to secede from China” and “illegally providing state secrets to foreigners.” On Feb. 20, he was formally arrested.

On Aug. 6, 2009, the Kashi District Intermediate Court secretly sentenced Alimujiang to 15 years imprisonment on the charge of “illegally providing state secrets to foreign nationals.”
It was not until Oct. 27 that the court in Kashi notified Alimujiang’s wife, Gulinuer, and his lawyer of the sentence. Alimujiang appealed.

On March 6, 2010, the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region tried the case in private, refusing to let the lawyer appear in court. They upheld the ruling from the Kashi District Intermediate Court, sentencing Alimujiang to 15 years of imprisonment and depriving him of political rights for five years.

On April 12, 2010, Alimujiang’s wife Gulinuer got a phone call notifing her that Alimujiang had been transferred from Kashi Detention Center to serve his sentence in No. 3 Prison of Xinjiang in Urumqi.

In Nov. 2010, the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang accepted the appeal by Alimujiang’s wife and mother and decided to retry Alimujiang’s case of “disclosing top state secrets
After Christmas 2010, the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang told Gulinuer that they had already made the decision through a collegial bench on December 20.

In Feb. 2011, the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang notified Alimujiang, who is serving his sentence, that they upheld the original sentence of 15 years of imprisonment in the reconsideration.

Pastor Yang Rongli, in China

Location: China
Arrested: November 2009
Days Imprisoned: 825


On Nov. 25, 2009, Pastor Yang Rongli and four other Linfen-Fushan church leaders from Shanxi Province were sentenced to criminal detention for two to seven years, according to China Aid Association. The five church leaders were accused of "gathering people to disturb the public order," because they organized a prayer rally on Sept. 14, the day after 400 military police raided the church's grounds. During the raid, more than 30 believers were seriously wounded and 17 buildings were destroyed.

Release Date
Yang Rongli is scheduled to be released in 2017.
 

Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, Eritrea

Location: Eritrea
Arrested: May 2004
 
Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, a leading figure of Full Gospel Church of Eritrea, founder and senior pastor of Southwest Full Gospel Church and member of the executive committee to the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea, was arrested on May 23, 2004. He was taken from his home in Asmara Gejeret, at approximately 5 a.m. Dr. Gebremeskel was a mathematics lecturer, department and faculty head at the University of Asmara until 1999, when he became a full-time pastor at the Southwest Full Gospel Church. He has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Chicago University. His wife and four children have not been able to visit him.

About 2,000 Eritrean Christians are believed to be under arrest because of their religious beliefs, held in police stations, military camps and prisons in 12 known locations across Eritrea. Dr. Gebremeskel is one of the 28 clergymen being held.

Jailed Protestants are routinely subjected to physical beatings and severe psychological pressure to deny their religious beliefs. Police and military authorities continue to demand the prisoners return to one of the three “official” Christian denominations recognized by the government. But even the legally recognized denominations--the nation’s historic Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches--have come under government disfavor, incurring threats and even jailing by security police officials.