Remember the Persecuted

This Christmas, while we in America are enjoying the last vestiges of religious freedom and tolerance, don't forget the millions of persecuted Christians around the world:

• Christian bookstore owner arrested in communist China
• Anti-Christian TV leads to violence by Muslims in Turkey
• Hindu mobs threaten the safety of Christians in India
• Political party promises persecution if elected in India
  
• Christians murdered and churches burned down in Nigeria
• Teenagers beheaded for being Christians in Indonesia
• Prominent Christian leader murdered in Gaza
• Two shootings, just hours apart, in Colorado
  

And these are the stories from just three websites for just the month of December!!!

2 Murdered in Nigerian Jihad

This article describes the effects of a violent jihad against young Christians in Nigeria where one man was killed with a sword and another, a Sunday school teacher named Henry Emmanuel Ogbaje 24 (pictured), was bludgeoned to death.

Christian Sacrificed to Hindu 'Goddess'

Click here to read about Vipin Mandloli, a 27 year old shepherd and convert to Christianity from Hinduism who was allegedly shot as a sacrifice to the "goddess" Kali "a bloodthirsty ‘goddess’ [that] is even given human sacrifice."

And this article describes the increasing persecution Christians are facing by Hindu extremists / fundamentalists in one region in India -- a country I thought was more progressive because so many of our companies were doing business there -- while this article makes it clear that this persecution is widespread in that country.

Did U Hear What China Banned @ The Olympics?

Read here that the organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games in China have put the Bible on the list of items that athletes are banned from bringing with them to Beijing.

Christian Persecution in Egypt

Radical Islamic lawyers join the government's opposition of a newly converted Christian from Islam in Egypt who's life has been threatened for this. Read more about what this brother and his wife are facing here.

Palestinians Murder Christian

Read here about the murder of Rami Ayyad, manager of a Christian bookstore operated by the Palestinian Bible Society in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Turkey: Leads on Murderers of 3 Christians

I posted earlier this year about the murder of three Christians, the men pictured above, in Turkey here.

I found out here that they have some suspects from inside the Turkish military who may be responsible for their gruesome torture and murder.

Pastor Necati Aydin, 36; Ugur Yuksel, 32; and Tilmann Geske, 46. Three more the world is not worthy of.

Preacher Murdered by Hindus

For being humanly responsible for the conversion of three families from Hinduism and to Christianity, Ajay Topno was murdered (read story here).

"Topno left his house on September 16, telling his wife that he was going to Sahoda village, but he never returned."

The world is not worthy of men like Ajay.

10 Christians Slaughtered...

In Northern Nigeria Muslims destroyed 9 churches, displaced some 500 Christians, injured 61 and slaughtered 10. Why? "Muslim high school students claimed a Christian student had drawn a cartoon of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, on the wall of the school’s mosque" (see the rest of the story here and here).

Persecution in Uzbekistan

Read here about the Christians in Uzbekistan who are being "beaten, threatened, fined and imprisoned" by the Uzbeki government.

Tensions Rise for Zimbabwe Christians

Click here to read a short article about three pastors who were arrested for distributing toys and candy to children.

Christians Tortured in Egypt

Here is an article about man seeking asylum in the U.S. because he would be tortured in Egypt for being a Christian.

The article is also interesting because of the history and statistics it gives on Egyptian persecution of Christians.

Persecuted in Uzbekistan

Persecution is still alive and doing very well. Please pray for this pastor, his wife and three kids.