Muslim Persecution of Christians: March, 2013

The Middle East Forum website has released it's latest report on Muslim persecution of Christians, which is probably the most under-reported story in the mainstream news media, truly a travesty in itself. One need not even ask if there would be this much media silence if Muslims were being murdered for their faith all over the world the way Christians are.

=====

The Islamic jihad against Christians in Nigeria is proving to be the most barbaric. A new report states that 70% of Christians killed around the world in 2012 were killed in the African nation. Among some of the atrocities committed in March alone, at least 41 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a bus station in a predominantly Christian neighborhood. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria, these attacks "were a signpost of the intended extermination of Christians and Christianity from northernNigeria."

According to the Rev. Jerome Ituah, "Out of the 52 Catholic churches in Maiduguri diocese, 50 of them have been destroyed by Boko Haram. When two Christian brothers were returning home after Sunday church service, jihadis opened fire on them with machine guns, killing the brothers, as well as three others, and injuring several more Christians.

Another 13 Christian factory workers in Kano were "gruesomely" slain. Said the local bishop: "Reports of the attack reaching us disclosed that on that fateful Saturday at about 7 p.m, Muslim faithful were conducting their prayer close to the affected compound occupied by Christian families, when two taxi cabs stopped in front of the compound and the occupants, who all concealed their arms dashed into the complex and demanded to know why the residents were not part of the 7 p.m. Muslim prayer. They responded by telling the visitors they were Christians and so could not be part of the Muslim gathering. At that point, they separated the men from their wives and children and shot them dead on the spot after ordering the women and children into their homes" to be enslaved.

The bishop added that, "government should show more concern, like it has always done when Muslims are affected; I have not seen that in the case of Christians—that 13 Christians were killed in one straight attack and nothing is heard from the government reflects selective justice because we are aware of compensation paid to Muslim families in situations of this nature."

However, the Nigeria government recently did go on the offensive to try to contain the jihadis in northern Nigeria—only to be chastised by the Obama administration, in the person of John Kerry, who recently warned the Nigerian government not to violate the "human rights" of the jihadi mass murderers.

Categorized by theme, the rest of March's Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and in country alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:

Full story here:
http://www.meforum.org/3532/muslim-persecution-of-christians-march-2013

Tens of Thousands of Muslims Coming to Christ, Says Iranian Ministry Leader

Great story posted on ChristianPost.com.
Sam Yeghnazar, founder of Iran-focused Elam Ministries is reporting that the middle east, and Iran in particular, is experiencing an unprecedented level of Muslims becoming followers of Jesus Christ.

“Iran today is a closed land with countless open hearts,” said Yeghnazar. “It is the most open nation to the Gospel in the entire world. Tens of thousands of Iranians are turning to Christ.”




“Betrayed by the government, disillusioned with the religion, depressed by the prospects of the future, Iranians when they come to know the Lord Jesus Christ are completely transformed,” he said. “They proclaim Christ in the marketplace. Entire families, men and women, are coming to Christ.”

Full article HERE.

Fantastic news, of course. But perhaps this shouldnt be a surprise. This kind of thing is supposed to happen. Jesus himself stated:

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14

May it be that this time of revival, and even greater, reaches every nation in every corner of our globe.
Of course, many of these believers convert to Christ at the very risk of their lives. May they continually be in our prayers. Amen.

Netanyahu turns to Bible in tussle over Jerusalem

My respect for the Israeli Prime Minister just went up a few notches after reading this news story. Benjamin Netanyahu is a smart man. You can never go wrong when you turn to the scriptures when looking at the Israeli-Palestinaian conflict, because at it's core, this conflict is neither a a social nor a political issue; but rather, it's a spiritual issue.

This Israel is the land that God gave to Abraham as a possession for him and his offspring forever:

For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
(Genesis 13:15)

And this Jerusalem is that city that Jesus said would be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles (after its coming destruction in AD 70) until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled :

"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
(Luke 21:24)

This is that same land that God said he would restore to Israel to in the latter days (see Ezekiel chapters 36-39).

²³ The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”’
²⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— ²⁶ after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. ²⁷ When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, ²⁸ then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. ²⁹ And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”
(Ezekiel 39:23-29)

So the Gentiles, and Israel's Arab nations in particular, can fight against Israel if they want to, but in the end they wont win. Maybe Benjamin Netanyahu is one of those few world leaders who recognizes that.


===
Article excerpt from Reuters:

Netanyahu turns to Bible in tussle over Jerusalem

Thursday, May 13

By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM - Beset by questions about Jerusalem's future in talks with the Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached for the Bible on Wednesday to stake out the Jewish state's contested claim on the city.

Netanyahu told a parliamentary session commemorating Israel's capture of East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war that "Jerusalem" and its alternative Hebrew name "Zion" appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism's core canon.

"As to how many times Jerusalem is mentioned in the holy scriptures of other faiths, I recommend you check," he said.

Citing such ancestry, Israel calls all of Jerusalem its "eternal and indivisible" capital -- a designation not recognised abroad, where many powers support Arab claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The dispute is further inflamed by the fact East Jerusalem houses al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine, on a plaza that Jews revere as the vestige of two biblical Jewish temples.

Heckled by a lawmaker from Israel's Arab minority, Netanyahu offered a lesson in comparative religion from the lectern.

"Because you asked: Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times in the New Testament, and none of the 16 various Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran. But in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem," he said.

===

Saddam Lied About WMD's

CNN.com Article: Agent: Saddam made world think he had WMDs

This is one of the most underreported stories of the year. Its been out for a few weeks now, but now the news media is finally giving it some attention (although probably not as much as it deserves).

Bottom line. Saddam didnt have weapons of mass destruction, but he wanted everyone to think so. He never expected the US to innvade. In a case of political brinksanship gone very bad, the US did invade and Saddam's miscalculation was costly -- to him, and to many others too.

Why is this a big story? It indicates what many of us have felt all along -- that President Bush has been unfairly maligned all along for his decision to go to war with Iraq. This seriously undermines the far left's position for all these years. Bush didn't lie to get us into a war for oil, or so he could control the Middle east, etc. He went because we had good reason to believe there were WMDs in Iraq. And now it turns out Saddam himself has said he worked hard to make everyone think he had them.

This is a measure of vindication for our President and all those who felt like he made the correct decision then, based on the information we had at that time. This is good news, in a sense, a good day for truth. Too bad that bad news spreads fast, and good news spreads slowly. The damage has already been done. America's reputation, and George Bush's reputation have taken a hit because of all this.

But sometimes its better for the truth to come out late, than never at all.

Hot Summer Ahead?

Another buried story. Our media apparently doesn't think its important news that the preseident of Iran, who once called for Israel to be wiped off the map, is calling for a "hot summer' in the Middle East, and the defeat for the "region's enemies" . Interestingly he says this standing side by side with President Assad of Syria.

This all comes not long after after one of Syria's top officials threatened/promised that Syria will confront Israel if they don't return the Golan Heights by September. As WorldNetDaily.com reports:

The Baath official said Damascus is preparing for anticipated Israeli retaliation following Syrian guerrilla attacks and for a larger war with the Jewish state in August or September. He said in the opening salvo of any conflict, Syria has the capabilities of firing "hundreds" of missiles at Tel Aviv.

"Syria passed repeated messages to the U.S. that we demand the return of the Golan either through negotiations or through war. If the Golan is not in our hands by August or September, we will be poised to launch resistance, including raids and attacks against Jewish positions (in the Golan Heights)," the Baath official said.

How many Americans have even heard of these comments by these leaders of Iran and Syria? I'd guess less than 5%. How many have heard this week about NFL quarterback facing charges for dogfighting and animal abuse? I'd guess maybe 90% + by now.

Will an armed conflict actually break out this summer between Iran/Syrian and Israel? We don't know for sure, and of course, we hope it doesn't. But when the leader of Iran makes veiled threats against Israel (and possibly the US?), isn't this something that we should be paying attention to over here? To me , thats a much more important story than hearing incessantly about an NFL quarterback facing charges for dogfighting.

Thank God for sites like WND.com , and similar independent news websites that tell us a lot of stuff that CNN, Fox News, etc don't feel like telling us. There's so much that goes on out there that our news media decides to filter out, and not tell the American sheeple people.

Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran

I hope there is no truth to this story; but deep down, I think there probably is a lot of truth to it. Time will tell.

From the Times Online (UK):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2535310_1,00.html

The Sunday Times January 07, 2007

ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources.

The plans, disclosed to The Sunday Times last week, have been prompted in part by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s assessment that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons within two years.

Israeli military commanders believe conventional strikes may no longer be enough to annihilate increasingly well-defended enrichment facilities. Several have been built beneath at least 70ft of concrete and rock. However, the nuclear-tipped bunker-busters would be used only if a conventional attack was ruled out and if the United States declined to intervene, senior sources said.

Israeli and American officials have met several times to consider military action. Military analysts said the disclosure of the plans could be intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt enrichment, cajole America into action or soften up world opinion in advance of an Israeli attack.

Some analysts warned that Iranian retaliation for such a strike could range from disruption of oil supplies to the West to terrorist attacks against Jewish targets around the world.

Israel has identified three prime targets south of Tehran which are believed to be involved in Iran’s nuclear programme:

# Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges are being installed for uranium enrichment

# A uranium conversion facility near Isfahan where, according to a statement by an Iranian vice-president last week, 250 tons of gas for the enrichment process have been stored in tunnels

# A heavy water reactor at Arak, which may in future produce enough plutonium for a bomb

Israeli officials believe that destroying all three sites would delay Iran’s nuclear programme indefinitely and prevent them from having to live in fear of a “second Holocaust”.

The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”.

Robert Gates, the new US defence secretary, has described military action against Iran as a “last resort”, leading Israeli officials to conclude that it will be left to them to strike.

Israeli pilots have flown to Gibraltar in recent weeks to train for the 2,000-mile round trip to the Iranian targets. Three possible routes have been mapped out, including one over Turkey.

Air force squadrons based at Hatzerim in the Negev desert and Tel Nof, south of Tel Aviv, have trained to use Israel’s tactical nuclear weapons on the mission. The preparations have been overseen by Major General Eliezer Shkedi, commander of the Israeli air force.

Sources close to the Pentagon said the United States was highly unlikely to give approval for tactical nuclear weapons to be used. One source said Israel would have to seek approval “after the event”, as it did when it crippled Iraq’s nuclear reactor at Osirak with airstrikes in 1981.

Scientists have calculated that although contamination from the bunker-busters could be limited, tons of radioactive uranium compounds would be released.

The Israelis believe that Iran’s retaliation would be constrained by fear of a second strike if it were to launch its Shehab-3 ballistic missiles at Israel.

However, American experts warned of repercussions, including widespread protests that could destabilise parts of the Islamic world friendly to the West.

Colonel Sam Gardiner, a Pentagon adviser, said Iran could try to close the Strait of Hormuz, the route for 20% of the world’s oil.

Some sources in Washington said they doubted if Israel would have the nerve to attack Iran. However, Dr Ephraim Sneh, the deputy Israeli defence minister, said last month: “The time is approaching when Israel and the international community will have to decide whether to take military action against Iran.”