Christian Persecution Around the World

[Soldier4Christ]

Bible-store owner riddled with bullets
Now Islamic terrorist pegged for allegedly torturing, killing Christian

A senior Hamas militant is suspected of torturing and killing the manager of a Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip who was found dead last month, according to Palestinian security officials.

The body of Rami Ayyad, who managed the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, was discovered last month riddled with gunshot and stab wounds. Ayyad, a Baptist, was accused by Gaza-based Islamic groups of engaging in missionary activities. His bookstore, owned by the Palestinian Bible Society, was firebombed in April after which he told relatives he received numerous death threats from Islamists.

The day of his abduction, Ayyad reportedly said he was being followed by a car that had no license plates.

Security officials associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization told WND yesterday there is information Ashraf Abu Layla, the central Gaza chief of Hamas' so-called military wing, the Izz al-Din Al Qassam Brigades, was behind the murder which is widely viewed as an anti-Christian attack.

The security officials said Hamas forces closed the investigation into the death of Ayyad in spite of what they said was evidence of Layla's involvement.

(Story continues below)

A Hamas spokesman denied the accusation while a top member of Hamas' "military wing," contacted by WND and speaking on condition of anonymity, would neither confirm nor deny his group was behind the Ayyad killing.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since last June, when Hamas took complete control of the Gaza Strip, seizing all U.S.-backed Fatah security compounds.

Last month, WND quoted witnesses stating Ayyad was publicly tortured a few blocks from his store before he was shot to death.

The witnesses said they saw three armed men, two of whom were wearing masks, beat Ayyad repeatedly with clubs and the butts of their guns while they accused him of attempting to spread Christianity in Gaza. The witnesses said that after sustaining the beating, Ayyad was shot by all three men.

Ayyad left behind a pregnant wife and two young children. No group has taken responsibility for the attack.

Christians warned: Accept Islamic law

Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement that recently announced the opening of a "military wing" to enforce Muslim law in Gaza, told WND in a recent interview all Christians in Gaza engaged in missionary activity will be "dealt with harshly."

Jihadia Salafiya, allied with Hamas, is suspected of a slew of Islamist attacks, including firebombing Internet cafes and one in May against a United Nations school in Gaza after it allowed boys and girls to participate in the same sporting event. One person was killed in that attack.

When Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, there were widespread fears it would impose hardline Islamic rule in the territory, and that life for Christians might deteriorate.

About 3,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of over 1 million.

Immediately after Hamas' Gaza coup, Abu Saqer told WND in an exclusive interview Christians could continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accepted Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings.

"[Now that Hamas is in power,] the situation has changed 180 degrees in Gaza," said Abu Saqer, speaking from Gaza.

"Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity," he said.

Abu Saqer accused the leadership of the Gaza Christian community of "proselytizing and trying to convert Muslims with funding from American evangelicals."

"This missionary activity is endangering the entire Christian community in Gaza," he said.

Abu Saqer claimed there was "no need" for the thousands of Christians in Gaza to maintain a large number of institutions in the territory.

He said Hamas "must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people."

[nChrist]

This is the sick, barbaric, and cowardly killing of innocents that is Islam. It really is just this simple.

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen. The more I read on islam the more that I see the resemblances to communism and to the mafiosi.

It is just pure evil. With all of their desires to instill protection taxes and oppressive laws on non-muslims as well as muslims I cannot fathom why people that proclaim to want freedoms are still supporting them. The only answer can be that they are truly blind and deaf as well.

[Shammu]

Man Who Attended Prayer Vigil Killed by Officials in Trinidad

by Jeremy Reynalds
November 16, 2007

SAN FERNANDO, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (ANS) -- A man who had just attended a prayer vigil was shot and killed by police in Trinidad.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Nov. 6.

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago comprises two islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean in the West Indies, off the coast of northeast Venezuela.

According to Salem Voice News (SVM News), Joel Ramsingh, 21, an employee of the San Fernando City Corporation, had attended a prayer vigil for the nation on Mon. night at a Baptist church.

SVM reported that Ramsingh was killed by police officers at a house in Rousillac owned by Magistrate Rae Roopchand.

SVM News reported that police said Ramsingh and an accomplice got shot during an altercation with police, who had responded to a call that two men were seen removing household items from Roopchand's house.

Police said they received information of "unusual activity" near Roopchand's home. They investigated and gunshots followed, SVM reported.

Ramsingh died, and SVM reported the other man sustained gunshot wounds. He is in stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital where he is under police guard.

SVM News reported that Ramsingh's relatives said he went to his house after the prayer meting, but later received a phone call, after which he left in a car. Police subsequently reported that the other suspect shot at officers when they he was apprehended at the magistrate's house in Rousillac. Police returned fire.

The entire congregation of the St. Peter's Spiritual Baptist Church was shocked at his death.

One of the prayer meeting leaders told SVM News that Ramsingh was baptized at the church three months ago and had turned his life around. "He never committed any major crime, but he had changed his lifestyle and was going to church regularly. He didn't deserve to die that way," she said.

Ramsingh and family were former Hindus and Indians. He leaves a wife and two children. They said he did not own a gun and was not a thief, but a born-again man of God.

Mother Smith, Ramsingh's spiritual mother, told SVM News, "Since his baptism, he has become very spiritual. He has been participating in the (prayer meeting) every night since it started."

She added, " ... He was here and left around 11.30 pm saying he was going home, as he wanted no part of (the election) victory celebrations of the People's National Movement's victory at the polls in the San Fernando East constituency."

Salem Voice Ministries ministers the gospel and provides relief services in India and third world countries.

[Shammu]

Sharing Life Amid Hopelessness

by Staff
November 16, 2007

(christiansunite.com) - When Dristi, age 5, failed to show up at the Bridge of Hope center for several days, the center's staff went to check on her. They were shocked at what they found. There was no sign at all of the family's home. The whole area where the little girl's house had once stood looked like a river.

Dristi's family was just one of 90 Bridge of Hope families who lost their homes due to monsoon flooding in India's West Bengal state this summer. Because the staff members at two Bridge of Hope centers had established relationships with the families, they were able to provide for their immediate needs resulting from the disaster. And, thanks to the generosity of Gospel for Asia supporters, these 90 families in West Bengal-and hundreds of others-received emergency food rations and household supplies.

The monsoon rains are an annual event in India. The weather pattern that creates the monsoon brings rain almost daily from June through September. Since the country relies heavily on agriculture, the annual rainy season is an integral part of the country's economy. However, this year's rains were much heavier and lasted longer than normal. Dristi's family was shocked at the severity of this year's flooding.

When floodwaters began to overtake their home, Dristi's father, Durgesh, gathered up his wife, children and what little they could carry and took refuge on higher ground. They crouched under the veranda of a shop for three days. After two days with no food, Durgesh took his daughter back to the Bridge of Hope Center because he knew she would receive something to eat. The staff was glad to find out the family was safe. They provided them with emergency supplies and prayed for them.

Amulya, whose son, Tanay, is also a student at this Bridge of Hope center, barely held back tears as he described his family's situation.

"Our last grain of rice was gone, and I was in a great dilemma. I didn't know what to do," Amulya explained. "I had no strength left in me to face the next day, and it was then that I saw two women from the Bridge of Hope center approaching our home through the water, which was slowly receding. My heart bubbled with joy to hear that they were going to help us!"

In another village in West Bengal, Bridge of Hope staffers also assisted families in need. Kanaka, whose daughter, Ela, is a student at the center, was one of those who received help. She was at the end of her rope when the Bridge of Hope staff brought her the supplies.

"We had nothing to eat. We lost everything in the flood. My husband was sick for a week. My children were hungry and asking for food. I didn't know how I would feed them. Thank you very much for supplying these things for me," she said.

Janaki's son, Panchali, is also a student at this Bridge of Hope center. She told the Bridge of Hope staff her own harrowing tale of escape.

"Water was everywhere. There were no roads, no drinking water and no food. My husband tried to go out, but he fell into a deep pit and broke his leg. I knew my family would starve because he could not run his rickshaw until his leg got better," Janaki said.

When the Bridge of Hope staff learned about the family's dilemma, they immediately arranged for them to receive emergency supplies.

"I was troubled, but you brought peace into my heart. You are doing a holy work," Janaki told them.

Distribution of emergency flood relief supplies is simply the first step toward helping those affected by this summer's monsoon flooding. As the water recedes, there are plans to help families rebuild homes lost in the natural disaster.

[Shammu]

Christian pastor flees Palestinian town amid threats

by Dan Wooding
November 16, 2007

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (ANS) -- A Palestinian-American Evangelical Christian pastor has fled the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah for the safety of nearby Jerusalem following increasingly hostile threats by officials within Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority.

This news was revealed in a story carried on www.israeltoday.co.il.

Born in the US, Isa Bajalia returned to his parents' hometown of Ramallah more than 16 years ago to bring humanitarian aid and comfort to the Palestinian Arabs, as well as spread the Gospel.

"But his increasingly bold missionary activity and his refusal to allow Muslim elements to encroach on his family's property - a common abuse suffered by Palestinian Christians - resulted in a Ramallah municipal official who moonlights as a member of the Tanzim terrorist wing of Abbas' Fatah movement threatening to cripple and murder Bajalia," said the story.

"Bajalia told Cybercast News Service that following last month's brutal murder of a fellow Christian in the Gaza Strip for his sharing of the Gospel, he is taking the threats very seriously."

The story continued, "The worried pastor first turned to the Palestinian Authority for protection, but was told by Palestinian security officials that they would only help him if he first paid $30,000.

"Bajalia then relocated to Jerusalem, where he filed a complaint with the American consulate in an effort to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority to do its job and provide security to all its citizens. After a week of waiting, Bajalia had received no response from the Americans."

[Shammu]

Christian Family Attacked in India for Not Celebrating Hindu Festival

by James Varghese
November 16, 2007

CHHATTISGARH, INDIA (ANS) -- A Christian family was attacked by Hindu radicals during its family devotional time.

The incident occurred in Chhattisgarh, India, on Nov. 10 at about 9 p.m.

According to a report on www.persecution.in, the victims were Pritam Arse, 53, his wife Priyadarshini, 45, his son Ravi Arse, 24, another son Prakash 22, who is blind, and daughter Mamta, 18.

The report said that while the family was praying, they heard the sound of loud firecrackers in their yard. When they went to investigate, they were confronted by more than 20 young men, some of whom were obviously drunk.

The young men cursed the family, the web site reported, for praying instead of celebrating a Hindu festival. Then the young men reportedly slapped Ravi on his face and pushed him down on the ground outside the house. They also, the report continued, threatened to murder the family and kidnap Mamta.

The incident continued until about 11 p.m.

The next morning, one of the family's neighbors who was also one of the attackers, said the group had been instructed by a radical Hindu group to attack the family. The young neighbor even told the family that the alleged instigators of the attack had provided alcohol for the group.

According to www.persecution.in, when the family attempted to file a police report about the incident, police refused to accept the complaint. The family's pastor was attacked earlier this year on July 1.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

It's almost impossible for us to imagine how horrible Christians are treated in many parts of the world. These are things that we should know and pray about frequently. Knowledge of these horrors will also cause us to give thanks for the freedoms we still enjoy in this part of the world. Some of those freedoms are being taken away as we speak, and the times might become hard for Christians in this part of the world also.

The main point I want to make is we should never take our freedom to worship for granted. This is something to give thanks for every day. Christians are being persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and killed in other parts of the world for what we might not even be giving thanks for. The numbers of the persecuted and the severity of the persecution is rapidly rising. If these are the last days of this Age of Grace, we can expect things around the world to get much worse, including our part of the world.

In the meantime, we should give thanks, pray for the persecuted, and yield ourselves to GOD'S Use. That is our reasonable service to GOD.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!

[Soldier4Christ]

Homeschoolers say Nazism revived by court ruling
'Custody shall be terminated for fanatical Bible students who endanger children'


A new court ruling categorizing homeschooling as "child welfare endangerment" contains "chilling" parallels to earlier decisions that in their time allowed German authorities to simply confiscate children from their parents if they were part of "fanatical Bible" groups, according to a homeschooling advocacy group.

Those earlier decisions, according to information being publicized by Netwerk Bildungsfreiheit, an organization that advocates for homeschoolers in Germany, were from the Nazi era.

As WND has reported, the newest court ruling not only found the basis for child endangerment in homeschooling, but also determined a local government was remiss in allowing a mother to take her two children to another country where homeschooling is legal.

The decision from the Federal High Court in Karlsruhe, Germany's highest court, was reported by the German edition of Agence France-Presse as well as Netwerk Bildungsfreiheit.

Now the organization is noting the similarities with earlier court rulings, when Adolf Hitler was in power.

A ruling from the State Court in Hamburg dated 1936 pointed to "endangerment of the mental wellbeing of children, who would have been denied participation in the national community…," a premise that corresponds to the recent Federal Supreme Court decision, the group said.

"Only the words have been chosen somewhat differently by the Supreme Court in order to conceal the fascist spirit of the decision," the analysis said.

"It is quite chilling that the reasons stated by the authorities and courts in child custody terminations in Hitler's regime … correspond in their spirit exactly to the decision recently rendered by the Federal Supreme Court," the analysis said.

It said what courts used to call the "national community" now is the "public" and what was "participation in the national community" now has been called a justified interest in "counteracting the formation of religiously or ideologically characterized parallel societies and integrating minorities in this area."

The analysis found that the "National Socialist (Nazi) regime" specifically targeted members of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, including the State Court in Hamburg decision from 1936 in which judges found: "Custody rights shall be terminated for parents who, as fanatical Bible students, cannot rear their children in accordance with today's State and because this endangers the mental wellbeing of the children, who are thereby prevented from participating in the national community."

Hundreds of children were taken from their families for reasons no more important than they failed to sing Nazi songs with others, the analysis noted.

"Authorities, who interpreted the civil code according to their national socialist legal notions, considered it beyond question that the childrearing practices of Jehovah's Witnesses was 'endangerment of child welfare' and 'mental and moral neglect,'" the analysis said.

It was simply that their lives conflicted with the Hitler Youth Law: "All of German youth, except in the parental home and at school, shall be reared to serve the people and the national community physically, mentally and morally in the sense of national socialism in the Hitler youth."

A 1937 decree followed, requiring "all state police bureaus to 'pressure the competent civil courts to terminate the personal custody rights of members of the International Bible Students Association who endanger the mental wellbeing of their children through their illegal activities and through their adherence to the teachings…"

The new court decision did not directly identify the family involved but described the case of two children from a homeschooling family in Paderborn.

The court found the city and its social services agencies were "obviously unsuited" to the task of enforcing mandatory public school attendance, and rather than protecting against "child welfare endangerment," the city allowed the family to move to Austria where the two children now are being educated by an "uncertified" mother.

An internet blogger's site, Principle Discovery, which monitors some such situations, also translated the report and said the Paderborn case specifically involved issues of religious belief, but the decision also could impact another homeschooling case, from Bremen, which WND has reported.

In that case, the parents have been battling the government over their children's education for educational, competency and cultural reasons, not necessarily religious reasons. For a time, however, they were relegated to begging a public court system for their own money to use for groceries after authorities froze both personal and business bank accounts to pay a $6,300 fine for homeschooling.

Dagmar Neubronner, who with her husband, Tillman, runs a home-based publishing business and homeschools sons Moritz, 10, and Thomas, 8, has been keeping the Home School Legal Defense Association updated on their troubles, including a recent freeze on their bank accounts.

However, a posting on Laigle's Forum, which also has been monitoring the situation in Germany, said the family's lawyer had contacted them to say their bank accounts had been made accessible again, and an application had been filed that would prevent the government from changing the custody status of their children without a court hearing first.

The Neubronners had sent their children to stay with unidentified friends over the weekend, because of their concern over the application of such laws to child custody situations, the posting said.

"The German authorities are obsessed with the idea that dissidents there – read: Christians – might start a 'parallel society.' Ironically, as one of the activists pointed out … bureaucratic Germany easily qualifies as a 'parallel society' on its own right because the authorities there have broken with European precedent and with all other European nations in completely banning homeschooling," the editor at Netwerk Bildungsfreiheit noted.

The new court ruling involves, court records show, "two children of a Baptist couple from Paderborn."

The court ruling from Karlsruhe, the public "has a justified interest in counteracting the formation of religiously or ideologically determined parallel societies and to integrate minorities in this area."

Paderborn officials had proven to be "obviously derelict" in the case, because they "facilitated" the family's move to Austria, the court ruling said.

The ruling said the family remains obligated to send the children to a German school.

WND has reported previously how German officials targeted an American family of Baptist missionaries for deportation because they belong to a group that refuses "to give their children over to the state school system."

A teenager, Melissa Busekros, also returned to her family months after German authorities took her from her home and forcibly detained her in a psychiatric facility for being homeschooled.

And WND has reported on other families facing fines, frozen bank accounts and court-ordered state custody of their children for resisting Germany's mandatory public school requirements, which by government admission are assigned to counter "the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views."

In the case involving Melissa, a German appeals court ultimately ordered legal custody of the teenager, who was taken from her home by a police squad and detained in a psychiatric hospital for being homeschooled be returned to her family because she no longer is in danger.

The lower court's ruling had ordered police officers to take Melissa – then 15 – from her home, if necessary by force, and place her in a mental institution for a variety of evaluations. She was kept in custody from early February until April, when she turned 16 and under German law was subject to different laws.

At that point she simply walked away from the foster home where she had been required to stay and returned home.

Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, has commented on the issue on a blog, noting the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole."

Drautz said homeschool students' test results may be as good as for those in school, but "school teaches not only knowledge but also social conduct, encourages dialogue among people of different beliefs and cultures, and helps students to become responsible citizens."

The German government's defense of its "social" teachings and mandatory public school attendance was clarified during an earlier dispute on which WND reported, when a German family wrote to officials objecting to police officers picking their child up at home and delivering him to a public school.

"The minister of education does not share your attitudes toward so-called homeschooling," said a government letter in response. "... You complain about the forced school escort of primary school children by the responsible local police officers. ... In order to avoid this in future, the education authority is in conversation with the affected family in order to look for possibilities to bring the religious convictions of the family into line with the unalterable school attendance requirement."

[nChrist]

Hello Pastor Roger,

Bluntly, any country so insecure that they demand forced indoctrination and brainwashing of children is a country not worth living in. There is no freedom there at all. They basically want to eliminate independent thought, including religious thoughts and beliefs. When it gets to that point, everyone is living in a giant concentration camp, and it's time to either leave or take your country back. It's no longer a free country, and they even want to eliminate leaving to escape their tyranny, so it's closer to a giant concentration camp than they think.

Things like the elimination of homeschooling should also be watched closely in this part of the world. This must never be tolerated. Forced government brainwashing of children in any area IS NOT tolerated in a free country. The attempt means that the country is no longer FREE unless the people fight for it. There comes a time when all free people must fight to keep and preserve their freedom or become slaves. Most people I know would die fighting before becoming slaves, and that includes me.

[Shammu]

Payments Demanded from Imprisoned Pastor in Azerbaijan

by Staff
November 27, 2007

(christiansunite.com) - Family and friends of Pastor Zaur Balaev are said to be "shocked" by the financial demands he is facing in prison. According to VOMC sources, hot water to wash or do laundry and cook food all require payment.

Family is allowed to visit only after paying "a considerable amount." Zaur's wife was allowed to stay with him for three days for his birthday, but as she was leaving the prison, she said, "I am shocked by the conditions and the sum spent, because I was forced to pay for everything."

Speaking to Forum 18, officials deny that payment has been demanded. "The state pays for everything, including food," said Mehman Sadykov, spokesperson for the Justice Ministry. "Such reports don't correspond with reality."

Pray for strength for Balaev and his family during this time. Pray that their appeal will be successful. Pray that Balaev will be a testimony to other prisoners, demonstrating the love and power of Christ.

Payments Demanded from Imprisoned Pastor in Azerbaijan

[Soldier4Christ]

Muslim Militants Loot Christian Farmer's Rice Crops

A Christian rice farmer in Pakistan was without income Sunday, December 2, after armed Muslim militants robbed him of his 7.5 acre of rice crops, the victim and investigators said.

Robby Simon said he had been robbed off "ripened rice crops worth" nearly $7,000, a huge amount in the impoverished region around his village of Tara Tibbi in District Mandi Bhaudin of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

He said the attack happened November 14 "in broad daylight", but police has so far refused to arrest any of the suspects. Police officials were not immediately available for comments, however security forces have been criticized by several advocacy groups of not doing enough to prevent attacks against Pakistan’s Christian minority.

Pakistani advocacy group Rays of Development (ROD) and relatives of Simon told BosNewsLife that militants carrying AK-47 rifles and other weapons forcibly entered in to the farm house of Simon and tied up his workers, identified as Nazir Masih and Muhammad Saleem, with ropes.

WAVING FIRE ARMS

A witness, Yousaf Masih, said the assailants reaped up the crop within 3.5 hours during the day light. "They finished harvesting and took away the looted rice crop with them, waving fire arms and saying: 'Christians are born to clean manure, therefore go and clean the cesspits and you (Christian) are not supposed to do cultivation'," he said, his voice trembling.

He added that the Muslim robbers "also blatantly challenged us to do whatever we (Christians) can do against them."

Masih said that the culprits are the residents of the same village and "very influential and powerful," and use bribery to avoid justice. Other Christian farmers have reportedly complained about similar incidents.

ROD Chairman Ferhan Mazher told BosNewsLife that his group "condemned this atrocity", adding that Pakistan is the home of people of diverse religions and cultures. "Therefore no one should think that this is their land and all other people are their slaves or no one should usurp or exploit the rights of other human beings," he added.

[Shammu]

British imam's daughter under police protection after converting to Christianity
December 5, 2007

Ruth Gledhill

A British imam's daughter is living in fear of her life under police protection after she received death threats from her family for converting to Christianity.

The young woman, aged 32, whose father is a Muslim imam in the north of England, has moved house 45 times to escape detection by her family since she became a Christian 15 years ago.

Hannah, who uses a pseudonym to hide her identity, told The Times how she became a Christian after she ran away from home at 16 to escape an arranged marriage.

The threats against her became more serious a month ago, prompting police to offer her protection in case of an attempt on her life.

She was speaking on the eve of the launch of a new charity in London today to promote greater religious awareness. Muslims in Britain who wish to convert to Christianity are living in fear of their lives because of Islamic apostasy laws, a senior Church of England bishop will warn at the invitaton-only launch in west London.

The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, will claim "freedom to believe" is under threat in Britain because of Islamic hostility to conversion.

Hannah, now employed in multi-faith youth work and who gives talks to churches on Islam, is the daughter of a Lancashire imam whose seven other children are demanding she return to Islam. She has been in hiding,

since her home was attacked by a group of men armed with knives, axes and hammers, in 1994. She will describe today how she is in fear of her life after the death threats against her were recently renewed.

She said: "I left home and I had nowhere to go. My religious education teacher gave me somewhere to live. Even though she tried to make me stay at home on Sundays, I am quite rebellious by nature and I started to go to church with her out of curiosity."

She said she had been in hiding, on and off, ever since, and has now been given a telephone number she can call for an instant response by police should she need help. The latest threat was a text message from one of her brothers, warning he could not be responsible for his actions if she did not return to Islam.

Hannah said she was looking forward to getting married so she could change her name and escape detection by her family. Not all Muslims in Britain are this extreme, she believes.

"It is representative of some Muslims. I know the Koran says that anyone who goes away from Islam should be killed as an apostate so in some ways my family are following the Koran. They are following Islam to the word. But I do not think every Muslim would actually act on that."

Earlier this year, a Policy Exchange study found that 36 per cent of British Muslims aged between 16 and 24 believed those who converted to another religion should be punished by death.

Dr Nazir-Ali will speak out on behalf of Hannah and others suffering persecution for their beliefs in the UK at today's launch of Lapido Media, a new charity which is seeking to promote "religious literacy" in world affairs.

The Bishop is expected to describe how sharia law in many countries, including parts of Britain, punishes apostasy with death and is viewed as treason by theocratic governments. Dr Nazir-Ali will call on society to offer greater protection, by increasing understanding of what makes people vulnerable.

Pakistan-born Dr Nazir-Ali, who has a Christian and Muslim background, is patron of Lapido Media, funded by donations and trusts including the Jerusalem Trust. The word ‘lapido’ means ‘to speak up for’ in the Acholi language of Northern Uganda. The charity has been named in honour of the courage of Acholi church leaders who campaigned for an end to a little-reported 20-year war there, involving the abduction of 25,000 children.

British imam's daughter under police protection after converting to Christianity

[Shammu]

I know the Koran says that anyone who goes away from Islam should be killed as an apostate so in some ways my family are following the Koran. They are following Islam to the word. But I do not think every Muslim would actually act on that."

This is what any convert has to face. When is the world going to wake up and realize that Islam is not as peaceful as they claim to be? Think about it people......... Today UK, tomorrow the world!!

The latest threat was a text message from one of her brothers, warning he could not be responsible for his actions if she did not return to Islam.

Of course he is responsible for his actions!!!!!!!!

She should have him arrested for assault. That's probably the best thing for him, too. Let him cry out to Allah to deliver him from the infidels, only to be disappointed.

[Soldier4Christ]

Educator says school's anti-Christian actions reflect society's attitudes

A teacher in North Dakota has been suspended without pay for showing a video to an eighth-grade class that talked about salvation through Jesus Christ.

Michael Nider is facing a three-week suspension after parents complained about a video he showed during a health class. School officials in Bismarck say Nider showed a video that asked, "What if you had a friend who died without knowing Jesus as their personal savior?"

Dr. Ed Gamble, president of the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools, says in a politically correct culture where teachers are allowed to promote homosexuality or Islam to young pupils, no one should be surprised at the anti-Christian bias in the government-run school system.

"There's a growing hostility toward Christianity in the culture at large, and you're naturally going to see that reflected in the culture's number-one engine -- the public school. It's inevitable," he says. "Why would we be surprised? It's been coming for 50 years. And now that the fruit's on the tree, we're all deeply concerned about it; but we've been watching the tree grow for 50 years."

In addition to the unpaid leave, Nider will be forced to take a sensitivity training class and write letters of apology to parents and students.