# 722 (12/6) "Christians in the Muslim World - Growth and Persecution,"

SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november

URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS:

North Korea Detains 85-Year-Old American Veteran - CBNNews.com; November 21, 2013; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/North-Korea-Detains-85-Year-Old-American-Veteran/ - "North Korea has detained another American, this time an 85-year-old veteran of the Korean War...Merrill Newman took a sight-seeing trip to North Korea in late October."[PRAY that Mr. Merrill will be finally released and can return to his family.]

"Missionary in Philippines: 'Bodies Laying Everywhere'- By Dale Hurd and Heather Sells, November 12; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Truckloads-of-Bodies-Filipinos-Plead-for-Help/ - [PRAY that relief supplies will get to the needed area in time to help the tens of thousands who are in great need. PRAY that security can be established in the midst of looters causing problems in the midst of the devastation. - Stan]

NEWS ALERT: Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/ PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors  may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan] 

Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]  

Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"-  CBNNews.com,  Aug 14, 2013  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/  - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.] 

NEWS ALERT: Monday, November 04, 2013 - Saeed's Life in [Greater] Jeopardy After Prison Transfer - CBNNews.com, ; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Saeeds-Life-in-Jeopardy-after-Prison-Transfer/ IRAN - Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world 

PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\

- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him

- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ

- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans

- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Christians in the Muslim World - Growth and Persecution, (part 3) " By: John Stonestreet| Breakpoint.org: December 4, 2013; http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-archive/entry/13/23999?spMailingID=7512022&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=102553161&spReportId=MTAyNTUzMTYxS0

It’s time for another pop-quiz about the persecuted Church: How many Christians reside in Saudi Arabia? Hundreds? Thousands? The answer is an estimated 3 million of the kingdom’s 28 million residents.
The key words here are “reside” and “resident.” Virtually all of these Christians are guest workers from countries such as the Philippines and India. The Saudis may be dependent on their labor, but this dependence doesn’t translate into decent treatment, especially when it comes to religious freedom.

In his new book, “The Global War on Christians,” John L. Allen tells us that although “in theory, the state tolerates private expressions of alternative religious belief… in practice the religious police in Saudi Arabia . . .  sometimes harass and detain Christians even for private ‘house church’ observances.”
And, “worshippers who defy the ban on public religious expression risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and sometimes torture.” The Saudi campaign against public expressions of Christianity can go to absurd lengths: “One year, in an American school, a Santa Claus barely dodged the religious police by escaping through a window,” he writes.

While it’s true, as Allen tells us, that the global war against Christians isn’t only, or even primarily, driven by Islamic fanaticism, it’s also undeniable that after North Korea, the next nine worst places to be a Christian, as measured by Open Doors, are Islamic countries. Similarly, Allen says, “in the 2012 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, ten of the sixteen nations designated as ‘countries of particular concern’ have a Muslim majority.” In these countries, the threat to Christians comes both from state actors, for instance, Iran and Saudi Arabia, and non-state actors, such as in Egypt, working with the active or passive connivance of local officials.
Thus, “According to statistics maintained by the Coptic Church, eighteen hundred Christians were murdered in Egypt during Mubarak’s rule and two hundred acts of vandalism were perpetrated, with few arrests and convictions.”

If the story of Christian persecution is under-reported, the reasons behind persecution are even less reported. BreakPoint listeners are familiar with the stories of Iranian pastors Youcef Nadarkhani and Saeed Abedini and their treatment by Iranian authorities.However, their stories are part of the  larger story of Iran’s growing Christian population. According to Open Doors, forty years ago there were only 200 Muslim converts to Christianity in Iran. Today, they estimate that there are 370,000.Whatever the exact number, the phenomenon has caught the attention of the Mullahs who run Iran. “In October 2010, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a speech in which he warned of a growing Christian presence in the country, blaming ‘the enemies of Islam for establishing and encouraging the expansion of Christianity.’”

And it isn’t only Iran. As Allen writes, “Christianity is experiencing phenomenal growth around the world, especially its evangelical and Pentecostal forms, and much of that growth is coming in dangerous neighborhoods such as parts of the Asian subcontinent, sub-Saharan Africa, and even regions of the Middle East.”

Thus, the persecution is a sign—a tragic sign, but a sign nonetheless—that the Great Commission is being fulfilled. Our fellow believers are in harm’s way in part because they’re being faithful to the call Jesus gave to all of us. The least we can do is emulate their faithfulness here at home and support them. [Check out Monday's post for the conclusion to this series on Christian persecution.]

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION
Pick up John Allen’s book “The Global War on Christians” at our online bookstore. As John mentioned, Christianity is growing in even hard-to-reach areas of the world. To learn more about the global Christian movement, check out Perspectives. And go to the Open Doors USA's website to educate yourself, your family and friends about the global persecution of Christians.Finally, pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.

RESOURCES:
The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution, John Allen | Image | October 2013
Open Doors USA, website (OpenDoorsUSA.org)
Perspectives website ( http://www.perspectives.org/site/pp.aspx?c=eqLLI0OFKrF&b=2806295)