Tag Archives: Islam

Ways to Help Persecuted Christians in Syria

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The following article is from Open Door USA (http://www.opendoorsusa.org) — http://www.opendoorsusa.org/newsroom/tag-news-post/syrian-pastors-church-workers-carrying-out-ministry-with-gods-help/

SYRIAN PASTORS, CHURCH WORKERS CARRYING OUT MINISTRY WITH GOD’S HELP

August 31, 2015 by Janelle P in Middle East
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An estimated 700,000 Christians have left Syria, but some pastors and church workers have made the decision to stay in the country torn apart by a civil war and the savage murders and kidnappings carried out by Islamic State (IS) extremists. Life is dangerous for Christians with daily shootings, regular bomb explosions and snipers in the streets. What makes Pastor Samuel* and relief worker Fathi* from Aleppo and Pastor Edward from Damascus stay?

Before the war began, cities such as Aleppo, Damascus and Homs were home to large Christian communities. Many of the Christians who are still in Aleppo are there for two main reasons: 1) they have no money to leave the city, or 2) they feel called to stay to help the remaining people or their congregations. One of them is Pastor Samuel, a pastor of a Protestant church with 250 members attending every Sunday. His wife and children have left the country; for them it was impossible to live under the constant threat of violence. The family endured great sacrifice. They have been separated from each other for a long time.

“Despite everything that has happened, we are all trying to do our best to serve the people who remain and provide God’s hope in a hopeless situation,” says Pastor Samuel. He sees many people coming to his church, mainly people who cannot go to their own churches because of the fighting. “In many situations the only thing we can do is pray. Psalm 91 comforts me and gives me strength.”

Fathi is one of the Syrian Christians who plays a key role in helping refugees through local churches supported by Open Doors.

“No, I never thought of leaving,” he said to an Open Doors worker. “Every day I see how we can help people deal with reality. Of course, on the other side, I think of my family. I am afraid for their lives, but not for my own. Over the last couple of years the Lord had protected me when I was stopped at checkpoints and when I went through certain areas of the city and country. God protected me.

“That keeps me going. I see how we can make a difference through the work we are doing. When bullets hit left and right of you, when buildings crash, and when you fear for your life, the bigger picture helps us to continue. We need to go on. I am happy to see it is a joint effort of different churches and denominations. It is not about me.”

Pastor Edward stays with his wife Ranaa in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

“We don’t want to leave,” he shares. “We are feeling even more responsible now. To be honest, we’re not really concerned about our own safety. We thank God who is helping us day by day. He is giving us a peace that surpasses understanding.”

All of the people leaving have left a large hole in the churches.

“Of course we feel it when people leave,” says Pastor Edward. “It depresses us to see people depart. Though many have left, the church is still full. Many new people are coming to church. That is very encouraging. We see the hand of God at work.”

The three are thankful for the Christians around the world who pray for Syria.

“We thank God for all those who pray for us and who support us,” expresses Pastor Samuel. “The Lord is watching us. He is our fortress, our strength and refuge. He will protect us.”

Syria is ranked #4 on Open Doors’ 2015 World Watch List (www.worldwatchlist.us) of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians.

Open Doors President/CEO David Curry told the Christian Post in a phone interview recently that refugees in northern Iraq and Syria are facing “huge food shortages,” with close to 300,000 Christians having limited means by which to pay for food. With millions of people displaced across the region, Open Doors estimates that $20 million will be needed to provide food for the refugees in the next 18 months. Curry said that one of his biggest concerns is that Christians “will be the last among the refugees to receive vitally needed help,” and called on Christians around the world to partner with Open Doors in order to remind those who are suffering that they are not forgotten.

Help feed an entire family in Syria and Iraq for a month for just $50.

*Real names are protected for security reasons

Compiled by Jerry Dykstra. For media inquiries, contact Christine Cape at 404-545-0085 or Christy Lynn Wilson at 770-401-9842.

 

5 Things Americans Can Do to Help Persecuted Christians in Iraq

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From the Christian Post at http://www.christianpost.com/news/5-things-americans-can-do-to-help-persecuted-christians-in-iraq-125821/

BY MELISSA BARNHART, CP REPORTER
September 5, 2014 | 7:39 am

Iraq(PHOTO: REUTERS/STRINGER)

A child cries in a military helicopter after being evacuated by Iraqi forces from Amerli, north of Baghdad, Aug. 29, 2014. A home to around 180,000 people, mostly Turkmen Shi’ites, the small town of Amerli is still holding out against repeated attacks by Islamic State fighters despite the fall of all the 34 villages surrounding it.

Iraqi born pastor Jalil Dawood of the Arabic Church of Dallas, who, along with other Christian leaders will be holding a rally on Sept. 14 in support of Iraqis who are being persecuted by the Islamic State, says there are five things Americans can do today to help their brothers and sisters in Christ.

“What Americans can do today is write to their representatives and tell them the U.S. government needs to take more aggressive action toward the Islamic State, because this group is not only a threat to Iraq, it’s a threat to America, eventually. And we need to deal with them now, before it’s too late,” Dawood told The Christian Post.

“I heard the president say last week that he doesn’t have a strategy. Well, ISIS’ strategy is to kill us. Their strategy is to convert us and kill us,” he asserted.

The second thing Americans can do, he said, is to provide tangible assistance to the 250,000 refugees in Iraq through trusted nonprofit organizations that are helping Christians and other religious minorities who’ve been forced to leave their homes to flee the terrorist organization.

Pastor Stephen Broden of Fair Park Bible Fellowship, who will be a featured speaker at the Dallas rally, told CP Thursday that three of the nonprofits that have been helping Iraqi Christians are Open Doors, Samaritan’s Purse and Voice of the Martyrs.

Iraqi Christians(PHOTO: REUTERS/MUHAMMAD HAMED)

An Iraqi Christian man from Mosul, who fled from violence in their country, reads a book at the Latin Patriarchate Church in Amman, Jordan, Aug. 21, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their homes since the terrorist Islamic State group swept through much of the north and west of Iraq in June, threatening to break up the country.

Dawood added that when Americans write to their representatives on behalf of Iraqi Christians, they should ask that the government allow them to immigrate to the U.S. within six months, and to provide humanitarian aid through the United Nations while they’re waiting, “so they don’t suffer or [resort to] selling themselves for sex so they can survive.”

He also believes that there needs to be special criteria for Iraqi Christians who are seeking asylum, one that is separate and apart from the current quota system that is used for Iraqis who are immigrating to the U.S.

“There needs to be a special category to be accepted faster because these people are really the victims of this conflict,” he added.

Fourth, and the most important thing Americans can do, he said, is to pray.

And fifth, Dawood encourages Christians to take part in rallies and speak at their churches to bring greater awareness and attention to the plight of Iraqi Christians who are being persecuted in their homeland.

“To be honest with you, I’m surprised that churches here are not doing anything — anything that is tangible,” Dawood said.

“There was a London demonstration talking about suffering in Gaza and the people living in Gaza. They raised $11 million toward Gaza. The church is not raising anything significant [for Iraqis] and the needs are tremendous. This is our time to reach those people through Christ,” he continued.

Another way Americans can help Iraqi Christians is by contacting their local Arabic Christian church and support that community by helping to meet the needs of Iraqis who’ve immigrated to the U.S. and are transitioning to their new lives.

“Support that church,” he said, “because that church is trying to reach out for Christ’s sake to the immigrants and refugees — some of them are nominal Christians or Muslims. We need to at least tell them: ‘You are not alone. We love you; we pray for you; and we will help you tangibly, in this way.'”

“The church needs to reach out to those minorities in order to win them to Christ and be impactful, and not [leave them] to segregate into communities and ethnic groups. Get involved with the community; help the community; love the community that is around you. And serve the people and the churches that are already meeting the needs of these people,” said Dawood, who emigrated from Iraq to the U.S. in the 1980s.

While the Sept. 14 rally is being held in Dallas, Dawood is encouraging everyone who lives outside North Texas to hold simultaneous rallies in their communities; not only to show support for persecuted Christians and religious minorities in Iraq, but to pray and find tangible ways to help.

“Do something practical, not only in words but in deeds,” he advised. “We need to speak; we need to shout to the Lord, we need to shout to the nation.”

“This has to do with people of our faith. This is not an Iraqi issue, this is a global issue and it will touch us if we don’t do something about it,” Dawood emphasized.

“Like Bonhoeffer said, if we are silent in the face of evil we are agreeing with it, we are part of it; we become accomplices and are allowing it to happen. We don’t need to wait. We need to take action now and be heard before it gets too late.

 

Islam and the Modern “Progressive” Movement

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The so-called “progressive” liberal philosophical (called Progressivism) movement in the U.S. and other Western nations, broadly speaking, has one thing in common with Islam: they both hate YHVH Elohim — the God of the Bible — and those who follow and teach His word, the Bible. Many “progressives” and Koran-adherent Islamists or Moslems are currently waging an all-out war against Elohim’s people all over the world. Though they are two different ideological groups and are not formally united, they’re united in that they have a common enemy. The spiritual force driving both of them is Satan the devil, the god of this world, who is behind the spirit of Antichrist, which both “progressives” and Koran-adherent Moslems, by their actions and philosophies, advocate and are aggressively promoting globally.

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Presently in Africa, the Middle East and Near East, Koran-adherent Moslems are persecuting, enslaving, raping, exiling, stealing property from and genocidally exterminating Christians and Jews as per the instructions of the Koran. Concurrently, the “progressives” in America and the West are doing the same thing, but in a different way. “Progressives” are using the political parties, judicial systems, educational systems, the media and the entertainments industries they control to exile or exterminate Christians from the marketplace, political arena, the media, educational systems and the entertainment industry. “Progressives” are murdering Bible-followers verbally through every media and electronic mouthpiece available to them. Like their Muslim counterparts, they are using a corrupt court system, a wicked political establishment and any other means available to them to deprive Christians of liberty, property, and to “rape” them economically by depriving them of the freedom to run their own commercial enterprises as their biblically-ordered conscience dictates and to openly and freely practice their religion in the public square and even, at times, to freely preach or communicate Bible truth.

Although most so-called “progressives” won’t come out openly in favor of Islam, they nonetheless share the same hatred of Christians as do Koran-adherent Moslems, and “progressives” are doing everything possible to promote the Islamization of our government, schools and other social institutions at the expense of our traditional Judeo-Christians biblical values.

With regard to the agenda that “progressives” and Moslems share, the oft-heard adage, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” comes to mind. In this case, both groups hate YHVH Elohim, His Bible and His followers. This then unites them, de facto, as allies, which goes a long way to explaining the “progressives’” aggressive promotion of Islam in America and other Western nations, and their turning a blind eye toward the atrocities Moslems are committing against Christians and Jews worldwide. It’s not that the “progressives” love Islam; it’s that they hate the Bible so much that they’re willing to form an uneasy, philosophical alliance of sorts with Islam to help them rid the planet of the Bible and its followers.

Make no mistake about it, Satan the devil, YHVH Elohim’s archenemy, is behind it all, and he is the ultimate enemy of Bible followers. Thankfully, the devil has already been defeated by Yeshua’s victory over sin, death and the grave (1 Cor 15:55–58), and he’s simply living on borrowed time until Yeshua returns to finalize his victory over him and banish him for good (Rev 20:1–3; 7–10). Until then, the lovers of biblical truth and freedom must stand firm and united against Satan and his earthy minions (Eph 6:10–18; 2 Cor 10:4–6) in the name of Yeshua and through His blood (Rev 12:11; Luke 10:19; Rom 16:20).

I leave you with this exhortative question from the Book of Psalms —

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16

 

The spirit of Antichrist is in the White House!

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Shame on President Obama for his idiotic comments at the National Prayer Breakfast linking the acts of some Christians with the murderous jihadists cutting people’s heads off and burning people alive! The President reveals how vacuous his understanding is of Islam, history, Christianity and the Bible. Or, is he simply a lying propagandistic spinmeister who knows the facts, but could care less about them in an effort to force his ideological agendas upon the American people?!

I feel like we’re living in Goebbels Germany, or that I’m reading the Pravda of the former Soviet Union.

First, the Koran tells its followers to spread its faith by dismembering and murdering its enemies. History records that Mohammed did this. On the other hands, Yeshua/Jesus told his followers to love your enemies and his disciples followed his example.

Second, true disciples of Yeshua do not behead, crucify or burn their enemies. A thousand years ago when some “Christians” did this in medieval Europe, this was aberrant not normative Christianity. What the Muslims are doing to their enemies is normative not aberrant Islam according to the Koran. Go read the Koran for yourself and you’ll see what I’m saying is correct.

Third, the Crusades were in defensive response to the jihadist Muslims of that day that had taken over major parts of southern Europe and were moving northward quickly. This is history 101. As a former college professor, Mr. Obama doesn’t know this? Yeah right! So what’s his point?

The fact is, we have Edom in the White House, which is the spirit of Antichrist. Period!

 

The Muslim Menace – The “New” Nazis

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This is a long read, but I perused it in about an hour and got the gist of it pretty quickly. It’s important that we stay well informed on these issues, since fundamental Islamist terrorists have vowed to take their jihad to western, Christian countries and everywhere else. We’re in a spiritual battle between the forces of light and darkness, good and evil and YHVH Elohim/Messiah Yeshua and Satan and his forces. As believers in Yeshua, we’re in the front lines whether we admit it or not. Take a moment to become more familiar with one aspect of the enemy’s attack against us by reading this well-documented article.

The Muslim Menace —The “New” Nazis 

© Russ Hills, PhD;  6/10/13; Revised 8/11/14

Introduction

Lengthy quotes are used by permission or statements indicating a desire for mass distribution. I do not have any kind of corporation (profit or non-profit) status. I do not sell books or engage in any business activities regarding what I write at this time. My copyright is for the purpose of preserving my right to publish and edit my materials.

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I have known and been a fellow employee with Muslims. The Muslims I have known personally in America are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Their version/brand of Islam is very different than that of the violent militants. A comparison could be made regarding the once highly active Irish Republican Army. They claimed to be Christians. But, most Christians in the world would not recognize them as true followers of Y’shua.

This writing is focused primarily on Violent Militant Muslim Fundamentalists (millions of people in the Middle East – many more than the IRA mentioned above) and totalitarian Muslim governments. My “religious” identification is one of being a “Hebrew” (“one who has crossed over”) to being a follower of the Torah living and Torah expanding Y’shua The Messiah.

Terrorist actions in recent years have prompted me to do some revision of a previous writing I composed regarding the obvious connection of Violent Militant Islam with human slavery, brutality and sex trafficking of women and children. It should not come as a surprise that people who have such disrespect for other human beings would be those most responsible for terrorism in the world today. In every generation satan will find organizations to do his bidding on a large scale. In some cases they are destroyed. In other cases, such as Islam, satan was preparing them for “the post Nazi world.”

Many Western Muslims claim that it is wrong to rejoice over someone’s death. Apparently they are not of the same denomination as the Palestinians who were dancing with joy over the death of over 3,000 multinational civilians working in the Twin Towers 9/11/2001.

Chapter 1: Dark Ages “Christianity” & The IRA 

Some will point to “Christianity” of the Irish Republican Army’s Northern Ireland revolution (1969-2005) and the Dark Ages (c.500-1500 C.E.) and ask, “What is the difference between modern Islam and Christianity?”

1.) The IRA revolution was a political war staged by criminals. It was not a religious war. That is clearly evidenced by Protestants and Catholics around the world opposing the revolution. The IRA was partially sponsored by a small number of politically motivated anti-British Americans and by Muslims in Lybia. Once America and other Western nations got serious about addressing the issue, the revolution came to an end.

2.) One major difference is that “Dark Ages Christianity” was in the “Dark Ages” (about 500-1500 A.D.) That was then. This is now. Human institutional “Christianity” was plagued with factional wars similar to the war of Sunnis against Shiites.

Many of the smaller Christian groups (like the modern day Amish) fled to places like Switzerland, then America. Among the larger groups (Catholic, Lutheran & Presbyterian), through many years of fighting, no one group was able to dominate.

This in combination with the advent of the time period known as the enlightenment (light coming to ages of darkness) generated a standoff or stalemate. This allowed for the formation of a better way – the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. American Christian leaders, such as William Bradford urgently petitioned for the separation of the government from any official religion.

3.) A matter of Character: While Y’shua taught protection for children, Mohammed exploited children, even marrying an 8-year-old child!  Many of his modern followers do the same. Reuters news (9/10/13) reported the death of an 8 year old bride who experienced uterine rupture and fatal internal bleeding after her “husband” had intercourse with her in Yemen.

Y’shua taught moral integrity and honesty. Mohammed started empire building through attacking caravans – stealing their goods while killing anyone who got in his way. He made peace treaties with cities, violated them and murdered every man, woman and child in them (see Numbers 9 & 2 Timothy 3:3 in KJV). Y’shua taught change as a matter of the heart and peace in living. Mohammed taught and lived conversion through violence and war.

“Christian” religious wars came about because people did not follow the teachings and example of the one they claimed to follow (Y’shua). Muslim wars come about because people are following his teachings and example.

If you are a Muslim, you may not like to face the truth of archaeology and history.  Reality/truth didn’t change because the lies I believed didn’t agree with it. Reality/truth will not change to fit lies you choose to believe either.

At this early time in the 21st century, we see hypocrites and cowards hiding in caves who do not even put themselves in harm’s way, sending ignorant gullible young people to their deaths through murderous-homicide-suicide bombings with a promise of a paradise in which they can indulge their lustful appetites for sexually exploiting a harem of women. So, women not only get to be property and sex slaves in this life, they get the same in the next. Now there’s something for women to look forward to!

Do people who make this comparison (between “Christianity” & Islam) suggest that we tolerate the satanically energized behavior of violent Islam because they are going through a stage of development?!

With “Christianity”: enough righteous people came together to force the Institutional “Christian” Church to cease its barbaric practices. There is no less an obligation on the part of righteous people today to force Islam to accept some basic principles of civility and respect for human life and rights.

Chapter 2: Six Reason Islam Is The World’s Fastest Growing Religion

1.) Propagation – Muslim families simply have more children than other religions. One Continue reading →

 

Islam Vs. Christianity

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The persecution of Christians by Muslims is finally being reported by the mainstream media. It’s not anti-Islam bigotry to report on this — it’s simply reporting the facts. Now even the U.S. State Department is highlighting this issue (see article below).

You see, the Koran calls for the persecution of Christians and Jews, which it calls the “people of the book.” You can read these verses for yourself in the Koran at http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm or http://know-britain.com/islam/muslim_persecution_of_christians.html. Also, check out my video on this subject at http://youtu.be/Qb59Hmg5FSQ?list=UUyYQr-wJ4vAp4M5iXK_UXIg .

Historically and at present this is how it works: Muslims immigrate into a county, and begin to increase in numbers until they have a large enough population to begin exercising dominance over that country’s native population. Once in control, Muslims then give the people the option to convert, be killed, flee or pay a heavy tax depending on the situation. Historically, many African and Middle Eastern nations were predominately Christian until Islam took over through the means listed above.

Don’t think it can’t happen where you live. Unless YHVH’s people repent of not whole-heartedly following and obeying him, the Bible speaks of YHVH using the wicked (e.g., the descendants of Edom, the Persians, Gog and Magog and the Syrians et al [i.e., the Muslims] to discipline his people to bring them back to him.

Watch, pray and repent of what the Bible defines as sin (i.e., Torahlessness,1 John 3:4).

State Department: Christian presence in Middle East becoming ‘shadow of its former self’

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Egyptian Christians gather outside the Coptic Orthodox church after a car bomb attack, in Egypt’s northern city of Alexandria, January 1, 2011.Reuters

The State Department issued a dire report Monday on the state of religious freedom around the world, with an alarming warning that the Christian presence in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East is becoming a “shadow of its former self.”

The analysis was included as part of a comprehensive report on religious freedom around the world in 2013. The report cited a flood of examples of governments and militant groups cracking down on religious minorities, everywhere from Pakistan to Egypt to China. The victims included Christians, but also Hindus, Muslims and others.

The report offered a pointed warning about religious violence in the three-year-old civil war in Syria.

“After three years of civil war, hundreds of thousands fled the country desperate to escape the ongoing violence perpetrated by the government and extremist groups alike,” the report said. It said that in Homs, the Christian population has plummeted from 160,000 before the conflict to “as few as 1,000.”  (To continue reading: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/28/state-department-christian-presence-in-middle-east-becoming-shadow-its-former/ )

Video: Islam — God’s Judgment on Christians to Bring Spiritual Revival