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Call
for Christian leaders to speak out in favour of converts from
Islam
London, April 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
About 3,000 Christians
in the UK are in danger because they have chosen to convert
from Islam. Some are being actively harassed and persecuted,
but many church leaders seem more interested in defending their
attackers than in standing up for the rights of the converts.
Nissar Hussain, a Christian from Bradford, has suffered three
years of harassment, amounting effectively to persecution, from
the local Muslims in his neighbourhood. His car has been torched
and rammed, bricks have been thrown through his window on many
occasions, there have been threats to burn the house down, and
much else besides. Mr Hussain and his wife were originally Muslims,
and this is the reason for the treatment they are getting. Though
this may seem shocking, it should not be a surprise. From its
inception, Islam has rigorously sought to prevent its adherents
from choosing any other faith. Such apostates are regarded as
traitors and – according to shari’a (Islamic law) – should be
executed.
There are many thousands of former Muslims, in scores of countries
around the world, who are suffering for their decision to follow
Christ. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Sudan the
law of the land specifies the death sentence for apostates from
Islam, though this is only rarely practised. What is more common
is for those who have left Islam to be persecuted in a multitude
of other ways, including imprisonment and torture. In countries
where there is no law against conversion, other laws may be
used as a pretext, or “accidents” may be arranged. In addition,
zealous individual Muslims may take it on themselves to kill
a convert. Those converts who do not lose their lives may lose
their spouse (through divorce), children, inheritance, home
and job.
As the case of Mr and Mrs Hussain shows, living in Britain does
not ensure full protection from persecution. Where a convert
is the only non-Muslim in their family, difficulties can be
even more severe. Converts from Islam in this country, especially
young women, have been rejected by their family and sometimes
brutally assaulted; some have been threatened with death. The
number of individuals at risk in the UK is substantial. It is
conservatively estimated that there are 1,500 to 2,000 Iranians,
approaching 1,000 Arabs, and some 150 Pakistanis and others
living in this country who have left Islam to become Christians.
In round figures there are 3,000 KNOWN converts, but there may
also be many more who are isolated from the various networks,
and thus omitted from the figures.
These converts face not only the possibility of hostility and
aggression from individuals within the Muslim community in Britain,
but also some are asylum-seekers who have fled much graver dangers
in their countries of origin. If such individuals are refused
asylum and sent home, they could face imprisonment, torture
or death. A number of senior British Muslims have recently acknowledged
the injustice of the Islamic apostasy law and the serious breach
of human rights and religious liberty which it entails, both
in theory and in practice in the modern world.
It is essential that Christian leaders in the UK should affirm
the rights of those who have converted to Christianity from
Islam. Sadly such converts can often be marginalised by those
to whom they turn for help. Having been rejected by their own
community, they find that the Christian community fails to take
their situation seriously. Three years ago, when Mr Hussain
was first attacked, most church leaders who heard of his situation
did nothing. As further attacks occurred, they still seemed
barely interested. Now that the plight of the Hussain family
has hit the national press, church leaders seem to be chiefly
concerned to absolve from blame the perpetrators of these crimes.
Even some in Bradford itself have sought to deny the link with
Islam and have attributed this sustained and vicious campaign
to the pranks of youngsters.
For Christian leadership to downplay the sufferings of converts
is a betrayal of those who have risked everything for Christ.
But if British Christian leaders were to stand up for converts,
it could even bring about change within Islam itself.
Source: Barnabas Fund. Editing: ACPress.net
Palau rally takes
Buenos Aires by storm
Buenos Aires, April 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
A musical show,
lights, colour, sound and a message of gladness. This at least
was what Luis Palau promised on the posters and in other publicity,
and what many felt they got at a rally in the Argentinian capital.
People stayed put despite the rain, whether attracted by curiosity,
belief, the artists or the message. One of the most applauded
was the singer, José Luis Rodríguez, the ‘Puma’. A huge screen
on centre stage divided into three parts to show the most important
parts of the rally.
The event kicked off with a heavy metal group, ‘Kiosco’, who
mixed in Christian lyrics to their distinctive sound. While
the bands played, the screen offered images of the face and
name of Luis Palau. Many of those who attended – police estimates
put the crowd at over 30,000 – had gone just to see the preacher
whom they had only previously heard on tape.
Although others only went to hear the Puma, the applause and
shouts became more intense when, at 9pm, Palau took the stage.
He preached for half an hour, calling on those present to leave
the vices of this world and open their hearts to God. The show
continued afterwards, with music by Yuri, Pablo Olivares and
the Puma. Palau, now 70, says he has had a call from God to
preach the Word from the age of 12. He was born in Peru, now
lives in the USA, and has 4 children. He said his aim was not
to get as many people as possible to join the Evangelical Church,
but to draw people to Jesus. This rally was publicised massively
in a way not seen in Argentina even for elections, with thousands
of posters, phone messages and so on, and entitled ‘The right
wavelength’.
Source: LOS ANDES online. Editing: ACPress.net
Businessman’s death
in Uruguay linked to shadowy church group
Montevideo, April 7th, 2005.
A businessman’s
death in Uruguay remains unresolved and rumours are circulating
about the possible role of the Universal Church of the Kingdom
of God, a group which has come under scrutiny in several countries,
and been viewed with suspicion by many Christians.
Gerardo Vidal, a director with the company Val del Chuy, was
found dead in his car with a bullet in his temple and two letters
on the passenger seat – one to his family and the other to the
Central Bank. A newspaper has suggested that the letters could
have been written under pressure and that suicide is not the
most likely option. They say it has all the appearance of a
disguised assassination.
Vidal’s death is linked to a network which sells judicial sentences
and is involved in money-laundering. Based in Brazil, it has
bank accounts in various countries. The ‘Republica’ newspaper
also mentions the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKD),
which is a multi-million pound operation run by the self-proclaimed
Bishop Edir Macedo. It owns various firms all over Latin America
and operates on the fringes of the banking system, with a marked
preference for fiscal paradises.
The newspaper article alleges that the firm Val de Chuy was
used by Cableinvest, a company which belongs to the UCKD, to
change 12 million American dollars into local currency. This
information comes from a 1999 investigation which linked this
money to the purchase of the TV chain ‘Record’.
Source: LA REPÚBLICA. Editing: ACPress.net
Rice makes pro-religious
freedom statement in China
Washington, April 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
During her recent
trip to Asia, the American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice,
emphasised the importance of freedom of religion by going out
of her way to attend Palm Sunday services at a church in communist
China.
The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Rice worshipped at
Gangwashi Protestant Church, one of China's few state-sanctioned
churches, on the evening of March 20th rather than attending
one of the many Protestant churches in Seoul, South Korea, where
she spent the morning and afternoon. China allows Gangwashi
to function openly if the church uses only hymns and Scriptures
approved by the government. Rice sat on the front row during
the service and wore headphones to hear a translation of the
minister's message. As the 500 congregants sang the hymn "Constantly
Abiding" in Chinese, Rice sang along in English. Observers
say the secretary of state's visit to a church in China sent
a message to the country's leaders that the United States takes
religious freedom seriously and expects other nations to do
the same.
Source: Baptist Press. Editing: ACPress.net
Calls for public
debate in abortion in Britain
London, April 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Many thought abortion
was only a hot issue in the USA, and that the subject was dead
and buried in Europe. Yet the million-member Evangelical Alliance
in Britain backs calls for a review of the existing law.
The Evangelical Alliance has today called for an open debate
on lowering the legal limit on abortions in light of new scientific
research and public disquiet over the current law. Joel Edwards,
General Director of the Evangelical Alliance said, "Evidence
proves current thinking on abortion laws is not in line with
existing research. As it stands, babies of similar age that
have the same chances of survival do not have equal rights when
it comes to living. One can be aborted if inside the womb, the
other can receive full neo-natal care if outside it. This is
not fair or right."
The Alliance, together with its partner organisations Christian
Medical Fellowship and CARE believe it's time the public looked
again at the abortion facts. Abortion is legal in the UK until
24 weeks for reasons of preserving the mother's 'mental health'
and right up until the time of birth for 'serious handicap'.
Peter Saunders, General Secretary of CMF said, "Recent
research carried out at the University of Minnesota published
in the journal, 'Paediatrics' in 2004 found that two out of
three [66%] babies born at 23 weeks during 1996-2000 survived
with good neo-natal care. It is incomprehensible that abortions
are carried out at this age in the UK for often what amounts
to purely social reasons.
We have now reached a situation in the UK where many doctors
and nurses would welcome a further reduction over and above
the 20 week limit being mooted. We know that many in the medical
profession feel uncomfortable performing late abortions and
most over 18 weeks are contracted out by the NHS to the private
sector."
Roger Smith, Head of Public Policy at CARE said," Rowan
Williams is right when he speaks of 'anguished decisions' regarding
abortion. Each day, our pregnancy advice centres see women who
feel trapped by their circumstances and who believe they have
no choice other than to abort. Women ask for support and accurate
information so that all the options can be considered, including
keeping the child or placing the child for adoption. More public
debate about the choices available to women is vital."
Source: Evangelical Alliance. Editing: ACPress.net
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