Missions Catalyst 07.07.10 – World News Briefs

In This Issue: Awakening in Iran, Injustice in Pakistan, and More

• IRAN: Not Enough New Testaments
• PAKISTAN: Stand against Injustice Gets Them Evicted
• LIBYA: Eritrean Detainees in Danger
• WORLD: Religions Adapt to Changing Times
• USA: “Son of Hamas” Granted Asylum

Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!

World News Briefs, edited by Pat Noble, are published twice a month.

IRAN: Not Enough New Testaments

Source: Joel News International 734, June 8, 2010

Iranian evangelist Lazarus Yeghnazar of 222 Ministries says a spiritual awakening of unprecedented magnitude is occurring in his nation. The churches are growing so fast, despite persecution, that they have difficulty coping with all the new converts. 222 Ministries is reaching millions through television and Internet broadcasts. Currently more than 3,000 Iranians come to Christ each month through 222’s work, even though the Iranian government has cracked down on satellite television and smashed satellite dishes in Tehran and other cities. Almost 200,000 unique visitors come to 222’s Farsi gospel site each month. Many of them are seeking discipleship because they just gave their hearts to Christ.

“The need is so great,” says Yeghnazar’s wife Maggie, who does special gospel broadcasts for Iranian women. She says the women respond to Christ faster than men because they tend to stay at home. Yeghnazar and his wife fled Iran in 1988 to base their operations in the U.K. Their Farsi-language programs not only bring Iranians to faith in Christ but also serve to strengthen the underground house church movement. “One church leader told me they have stopped sharing their faith because every Iranian they witness to comes to Christ,” says Yeghnazar. “The leader told me: ‘We don’t have enough New Testaments to handle the growth.’ There is a huge need for discipleship!”

The challenges in Iran are enormous. The country has an extremely high rate of drug addiction, and at least one-fourth of the people are depressed. About 60 percent of the nation’s 71 million people are under age 26, and many of these are university students who are growing increasingly restless under Ahmadinejad’s dictatorship. Police brutality is common and it is often aimed at Christians who gather in groups smaller than 20 to worship. “Believers in Iran are not praying for persecution,” Yeghnazar says, “but they know it is helping fuel the growth of their churches.”

>>Subscribe to Joel News.

PAKISTAN: Stand against Injustice Gets Them Evicted

Source: Mission Network News, July 1, 2010

Today, 250 Christian families are being evicted from their homes in the Khanewal District of Pakistan by their Muslim landlords. The reason? They stood up against the landlords and their sons raping their wives and daughters. Sadly, when these Christian families spoke up, they went against the norm for treatment of women in Pakistan. Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, said of women there: “They have virtually no rights, and so these abuses go on all the time; to try to get justice is very difficult.”

Musselman shared an example. “In one case, I remember a young lady we had met who was sexually assaulted by the owner of the home [she worked in]. Before she could get to the police station … the family that she was working for went to the police station and had her charged with theft. She was arrested and was raped again by this same young man, and also a prison guard.”

>> Full story.

>> Also read Growing Trend of Suicide Among Christian Women in Pakistan (ASSIST News).

LIBYA: Eritrean Detainees in Danger

Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, July 1, 2010

Hundreds of Eritrean refugees who were transported in trucks “like cattle” from Misrata prison in Libya to Sabha detention centre, situated on the edge of the Sahara desert, are being held together in a single, dark and overcrowded cell. They have been given nothing to eat or drink since Tuesday lunch time and no toilet or exercise breaks. According to eyewitness accounts, the refugees have been forced to relieve themselves in their shoes.

In the fortnight [two weeks] before their sudden removal to Sabha, the refugees endured beatings, electric shocks, and other mistreatment administered by members of the Libyan military. They were also forced to fill in repatriation forms given to the prison authorities by the Eritrean Embassy in Libya. Those who refused to cooperate were physically abused, with some kept in solitary confinement, while others were denied food and water.

According to Human Rights Concern Eritrea (HRCE), soldiers threatened to deport the refugees or dump them into the sea. One refugee told CSW that in the three and a half years he had spent in Misrata he had never witnessed anything close to the events of the last two days.

>> Full story.

>> Also, the Eritrean Paltalk community has started a 24-hour prayer chain for Eritrea in response to the suffering of Eritreans both inside the country and in countries like Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, and Israel, where they live as refugees. The prayer chain began on July 1 and will run for three months until September 30. For more information, contact Kiri Kankhwende.

WORLD: Religions Adapt to Changing Times

Source: Various via Pat Noble, July 2010

I found these stories of interest as they demonstrate the challenges that all religions face as they try to be relevant in a changing world. Consider this information fuel for prayer.

We covered the controversy over the use of the name Allah in Malaysia a few months ago.  Here is a new development, possibly in reaction to the debates as the Muslim leaders seek to be relevant in the midst of challenges to their faith and culture. Check out reality TV, Malaysian style: So You Think You Can be an Imam (Los Angeles Times).

Nepal is also adjusting to changing times by giving their goddess a pay raise. Please pray for this young girl, the current Kumari. See Nepal’s Living Goddess Gets a Pay Raise (Rueters).

I hope the next story on the “Son of Hamas” encourages you to pray for the young imams of Malaysia and Nepal’s Kumari to meet Jesus and use their influence to spread the Good News!

USA: “Son of Hamas” Granted Asylum

Source: Worthy Christian News, June 30, 2010

The son of a founder of the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, who became a Christian and spied for Israel, will be granted political asylum in the United States as the Department of Homeland Security dropped its objections, Worthy News learned late Wednesday, June 30.

Judge Rico Bartolemei ruled that Masab Hassan Yousef, 32, will be granted political asylum August 26 after he is fingerprinted and passes a routine background check. His attorney, Steven Seick, welcomed the decision.

“For 10 years, he fought terrorism in secret, hiding what he was doing and who he was. He deserves a safe place away from violence and fear,” he said. There was no immediate reaction from Israel.

If Yousef had not been granted asylum, he would likely have been killed if he was deported back to Palestinian territories, his supporters said, because he prevented terror attacks and abandoned Islam while working with Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency.

>> Full story with picture.

>> Also watch this 2.5-minute clip of Kamal Saleem, a former terrorist, as he speaks about freedom (Simon & Schuster).

Questions, comments, submissions? Contact us.