Khalida Khorsand, a 35-year-old rights activist from the western Afghan city of Herat, is skeptical about Taliban claims that it has dispensed with its strict rules against girls' education and women working.

The militant Islamic group made the declaration in the midst of recent peace talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad aimed at bringing an end to the long U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

But Khorsand still remembers the notorious repressions under Taliban rule as a teenager in the western city of Herat when she risked the death penalty to study literature in a class disguised as a women's sewing group.

"After nearly 18 years without the Taliban in power, we now see that the Taliban are coming back in Afghanistan and there haven't been big changes for women's lives -- especially in rural areas," says Khorsand, who has dedicated much of her life since 2001 to advancing women's rights in western Afghanistan.

Even without the Taliban in power in Herat, Khorsand says, many hard-fought gains for women since the collapse of the Taliban regime already are under threat.

She attributes that situation to what she calls "a Taliban way of thinking" by many Afghans and a proliferation of unregistered religious schools in Herat teaching "radical Islam" to as many as 50,000 young people.

If the Taliban gets a role in the Afghan government as part of a peace deal, as Khorsand expects, she fears a floodgate will be opened for resurgent "radical Islamists" in Herat.

"I don't know why this has been allowed to happen under the current government of Afghanistan since 2014," Khorsand laments. "They are not paying attention to the rise of fundamentalists and radical groups in Herat.

"Now the city has become a safe haven for the radical groups that support the ideology of the Taliban," Khorsand says. "The fundamentalist groups in Herat are very organized and have a lot of money. They take the young people into madrasahs and teach to them the principles of the Taliban, and they are having an enormous impact on the young generation."

Those groups already have gained backing from municipal authorities for an unofficial ban on live musical performances in Herat and for a ban on celebrating Valentine's Day -- with both practices being declared "unIslamic."

In rural areas of Herat Province, where Khorsand worked for years to help women who are victims of domestic violence, Khorsand says she has seen disturbing signs of support for the punishments doled out by the Taliban under its strict enforcement of Islamic Shari'a law -- amputating the hands of thieves, publicly flogging people for drinking alcohol, and stoning to death those who engage in adultery.

Students at Herat's madrasahs deny being radical Islamists. But they also support a return to the prohibitions and punishments of the Taliban era.

"Allah says cut off the hands of a male thief and a female thief," says Jan Agha Jami, a 21-year-old at the Fakhr al-Madares madrasah in Herat. "When men and women commit adultery, whip them if they are single. If they are married, they should be stoned, and the Koran's rulings should be implemented in public.

"Music concerts are absurd because they are forbidden," Jami tells RFE/RL. "Music is bad for the mind, memory, and even human psyche. When a girl performs in front of strangers, the whole society is corrupted."

Reflecting on the growing popularity of such beliefs in Herat, Khorsand says "it makes no difference for women in Afghanistan if the Taliban exists or doesn't exist."

"The Taliban's way of thinking about women is the way many people are thinking in Afghanistan," she says. "A lot of Afghans have traditional ways of thinking and they believe the talk of the Taliban. Unfortunately, much of their way of thinking is against the rights of women."

Move Forward, Step Back

To be sure, Khorsand says there have been important advances for Afghan women since 2001 -- including language in the Afghan Constitution that enshrines the right to education and to work.

Women are members of parliament and can be seen on television, competing in sports, and performing in concerts in Kabul.

But the Afghan government since the collapse of the Taliban regime has included many conservative Islamists and former warlords whose attitudes about women are similar to the Taliban.

Sima Simar, the head of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, says the gains for women since 2001 can easily be overturned and have rarely been implemented in rural areas where most Afghans live.

The 2018 Women, Peace, and Security Index by Georgetown University and the Peace Research Institute of Oslo ranks Afghanistan as the second-worst place in the world to be a woman. Only Syria was ranked worse.

That study notes that only 16 percent of Afghanistan's workforce is female and that half of all Afghan women have four years or less of education.

UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency, says only half of school-aged Afghan girls now go to school, and that only one out of five girls under 15 are literate.

Nearly two out of three Afghan girls are married when they are teenagers or younger. On average, they are sent by their parents into arranged marriages between the ages of 15 and 16.

Most imprisoned Afghan women have been jailed for so-called "morality crimes," such as leaving an abusive husband or demanding to marry a man of their own choosing.

Pray: That the steady advances being made towards improving womens rights will not be overturned.

Pray: That boys and girls will get equal access to good education, especially in the rural areas.

Pray: For improved employment opportunities for women.

Pray: For those who work with and speak up for the oppressed women and children in Afghan society - that their voice will be heard and acted upon.

Iran's president said the Islamic republic will resume high-level enrichment of uranium if world powers do not protect its interests against U.S. sanctions.

Hassan Rohani's address to the nation was aired by state television on May 8, the anniversary of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from a landmark nuclear agreement.

The announcement further escalates tensions between Tehran and Western nations -- first and foremost, the United States, which this week said it was deploying an aircraft carrier battle group to waters near Iran.

Rohani said the remaining signatories of the 2015 accord -- Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia – had 60 days to take measures to protect Iran's oil and banking sectors.

Western officials reacted cautiously to Rohani's announcement.

In London, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said Washington will wait to see if Tehran follows through on its threats before deciding its next move.

The White House, meanwhile, announced new economic sanctions targeting Iran's steel, copper, aluminum, and mining sectors, all key sources of revenue for the country.

"Tehran can expect further actions unless it fundamentally alters its conduct," Trump said in a statement released by the White House. "I look forward to someday meeting with the leaders of Iran in order to work out an agreement and, very importantly, taking steps to give Iran the future it deserves."

In his speech, Rohani said Iran will start reducing some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal and will no longer export enriched uranium and heavy water to other nations as stipulated in the accord.

He said Iran would begin to build up its stockpiles of low enriched uranium and of heavy water, which is used in nuclear reactors, including a reactor that could produce weapons-grade plutonium.

If the Europeans fail to compensate for the unilateral American sanctions, he said, Iran will resume construction of the Arak nuclear reactor, a facility that was shut down, and its key components dismantled.

"If the five countries join negotiations and help Iran to reach its benefits in the fields of oil and banking, Iran will return to its commitments according to the nuclear deal," Rohani said.

However, Rohani warned of a "strong reaction" if European leaders instead sought to impose more sanctions. He did not elaborate.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also tweeted: "After a year of patience, Iran stops measures that [the United States] has made impossible to continue."

Other European signatories of the deal urged Iran to uphold the nuclear pact and said they want to keep the Iran deal alive.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly warned that if Iran did not keep its commitments, re-imposing sanctions would be considered.

In Berlin, the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We as Europeans, as Germans, will play our part and we expect full implementation from Iran as well.”

At his news conference with Pompeo, Hunt said that Iran's threat to resume higher enrichment of uranium is an "unwelcome step" and urged Tehran to adhere to the deal.

Russia, meanwhile, has blamed the United States for the crisis, a point Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated during a news conference in Moscow with Zarif.

“The U.S. is to blame for the situation and it makes it difficult for both Iran to fulfill its obligations and...for the general state of the nuclear nonproliferation regime,” Lavrov said.

Zarif insisted that Iran's latest decision did not violate the agreement, and asserted it was provoked by U.S. actions toward Iran. He said Iran will uphold its obligations if European signatories to the deal uphold theirs.

China, which was also a signatory to the deal, said maintaining and implementing "the comprehensive agreement is the shared responsibility of all parties.”

"We call on all relevant parties to exercise restraint, strengthen dialogue, and avoid escalating tensions," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

The 2015 nuclear pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, lifted crippling economic sanctions in exchange for Tehran agreeing to curb parts of its nuclear program.

Last year, Trump announced the U.S. pullout, arguing it was flawed because it did not include curbs on Iran’s development of ballistic missiles or Tehran’s support for proxies in the Middle East.

Washington also reinstated sweeping sanctions that have badly hit the Iranian economy.

Despite the U.S. moves, Tehran has continued to comply with the terms of the deal, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

European backers of the deal have been trying to salvage the agreement, but Tehran has complained that the process is too slow.

Last month, the U.S. administration announced it would not permit importers of Iranian oil to buy it without facing U.S. sanctions. Oil exports are a major source of revenue for the Iranian economy.

On May 8, Tim Morrison, Trump's special envoy on weapons of mass destruction, threatened that the United States was ready to impose more sanctions "very soon" and warned European nations against doing business with Tehran.

With reporting by the AP, Reuters, BBC, and AFP

More: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-to-reduce-commiments-to-to-nuclear-deal/29928087.html?ltflags=mailer

Pray: that the disagreement will not lead to nuclear proliferation

Pray: for the ordinary Iranian citizens affected by the economic sanctions

Pray: that Iran will comply fully with the nuclear deal

THEY REFUSED TO DENOUNCE JESUS — PASTOR, 5 OTHERS SHOT AFTER CHURCH SERVICE IN BURKINA FASO

Last Sunday seemed like any Sunday for 80-year-old Pastor Pierre OuIt, who has spent 40 years serving his church and Sirgadji village community in the northeastern Soum province of Burkina Faso. On April 28, he gathered for worship with his congregation in the West African country. And like every Sunday, he preached the Word of God with the wisdom that seasoned years of life and ministry bring.

But shortly after the service, an ordinary Sunday suddenly turned deadly and a church building where worshippers had just gathered became a crime scene.

KILLED FOR FOLLOWING JESUS

At about 1 pm, while Pastor Pierre was still talking with several congregants in the churchyard, a dozen men on motorbikes stormed the area.

A local leader who wished to remain anonymous told World Watch Monitor: “The assailants asked the Christians to convert to Islam, but the pastor and the others refused.”

Reportedly, the attackers gathered Pastor Pierre and the five other congregants under a tree and then confiscated their Bibles and cell phones.

“Then they called them, one after the other, behind the church building where they shot them dead,” the leader said.

In addition to Pastor Pierre, the attackers killed his son, Wend-Kuni, and his brother-in-law (a church deacon), Zoéyandé Sawadogo, as well as believers Sayouba and Arouna Sawadogo, and a primary school teacher, Elie Boena. Another was seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital.

The men then set the church building and two motorbikes on fire. Before they left, they stole sheep and a bag of rice from Pastor Pierre’s home.

He and his five congregants were buried the same day in a ceremony that drew people from both Christian and Muslim communities. The pastor leaves behind his wife and six other children.

Other locals reported that the next day, the same attackers (some of them known to village residents as “young men who’ve been radicalized”) came back into the village “searching for Christians.”

The sources say the armed groups can move with impunity because of the lack of law enforcement in the area in the West African country.

“I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN LEAVE”

Previously, Pastor Pierre told relatives about his concerns over the deterioration of security in the region, though there had been no incidents in his village.

The community leader said that when he and others advised the pastor to leave the area, he refused, saying he “would rather die for his faith than leave the community he has been serving for 40 years.”

In the last few months, more than 100 Christians have fled the area, moving farther south, more than 46 miles away. In February, armed men believed to be Islamist militants killed a church leader in the southeast region of Nohao, as he was returning from Togo.

Last Sunday’s violence in Burkina Faso that took the life of Pastor Pierre and his five congregants appears to have been the first attack, specifically on a church building, in which believers in Burkina Faso have been killed by Islamist extremists.

Pray: for the families of the martyrs, that they will have the grace to forgive the attackers.

Pray: for protection of Christians facing persecution daily, around the world.

Pray: for the attackers to be brought to justice.

More: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/they-refused-to-denounce-jesus-pastor-5-others-shot-after-church-service-in-burkina-faso/?fbclid=IwAR2Ctw3mtgUNCmr8dSba8rZsqZP3N1CinNyRHQOtQ77bYGo2texbTCnK5Cc

May 7, 2019 by Lindy Lowry

According to a clause introduced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pro-life Christians are barred from federal funding unless they support a woman’s right to an abortion.

“I have met Justin Trudeau three times,” said Pastor Steve Long, a Canadian Baptist minister. “Sadly my last meeting with him in his office was very disappointing. He told me that evangelical Christians were the worst part of Canadian society.”

Trudeau’s enmity toward Christians is not solely against evangelicals. Canada under Trudeau has also become a very unwelcome place for Christians who flee from persecution in the Middle East.

Over 30,000 Syrian refugees were brought to Canada in an expedited manner and found themselves immediately taken care of by the Trudeau government. In the meantime, mass murder to the point of genocide of Christians has occurred within a number of Islamic nations. Trudeau has not breathed a word about the situation. Government assistance for the victims has been casual and minimal.

When questioned on his religious affiliations, Mr. Trudeau claims to be a Catholic. Yet inexplicably, his behaviour displays not an ounce of Christian identity or adherence to Christian values. It’s all so strange. In fact, his behaviour toward Christianity is downright punitive. Pushing mass abortion and euthanasia. Cancelling funding for church groups. Ignoring Christian persecution within foreign nations. Running down evangelicals.

If this is the behaviour of a believing Christian, than perhaps Osama Bin Laden deserved to be appointed Pope. Is Trudeau a practising Christian. or has another religious way of life captured his imagination? Either way, the man is as mystery of a prime minister – made all the more mysterious by establishment media obfuscation of his character and personal believe system.

Perhaps the truth will be revealed once Justin is removed from office, which according to current polls, is likely to be the case come the October, 2019 election. Thank God for this.

B. SALZBERG

Pray: for true biblical values to be restored and upheld in Canada

Pray: that Canada will once again be a safe and welcoming place for those fleeing persecution and seeking sanctuary

More: https://capforcanada.com/justin-trudeau-informs-minister-religious-christians-worst-part-of-society/

The European Commission has threatened it will take legal action against Romania unless it reverses moves to cripple the independence of its courts and hinder the fight against corruption.

The commission, which is the European Union's executive body, has repeatedly warned that measures adopted by the ruling Social Democrats -- including moves to reduce statutes of limitation that would close some ongoing corruption trials -- are reversing years of anticorruption reforms and weakening the rule of law.

Spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news briefing in Brussels on May 13 that Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans had sent a warning letter to Romania's government on May 10.

"The main concerns relate to developments interfering with judicial independence and the effective fight against corruption, including the protection of financial interests of the EU and particularly to the recently adopted amendments to the Criminal Code that create a de facto impunity for crimes," Schinas said.

"Possible legislation to allow extraordinary appeals would further aggravate the rule-of-law situation," he added.

The commission has already put Hungary and Poland under a special "rule of law" framework over steps to tighten state control over the courts, media, academic institutions, and advocacy groups. This could theoretically lead to the eventual activation of the EU's Article 7 -- the so-called "nuclear option" -- resulting in a suspension of their voting rights in the EU.

Schinas said similar action would be taken against Romania unless it addressed the EU's concerns.

Schinas also signaled that Romania's becoming a member of the EU's passport-free Schengen travel area -- for which Bucharest has been pushing for years -- might not happen if the government ignored the rule-of-law concerns.

A senior EU diplomat, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said penalties could include loss of EU funds.

"The Romanian coalition government is systematically undermining the rule of law for the sole purpose of saving corrupt political leaders from prison," the diplomat said.

"If Bucharest continues on this dangerous path, taking part in the Schengen travel-free area will remain a pipe dream.

"Infringement of the rule of law will endanger the distribution of more than 30 billion euros [$33.7 billion] in cohesion funds earmarked for Romania in the draft EU budget for the years following 2021," the diplomat told Reuters.

Pray: That the integrity of the Romanian judicial system will be maintained.

Pray: That proposed legislation that undermines the rule of law will be overturned.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and RFE/RL's Romanian Service

More: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-warns-romania-of-legal-steps-over-moves-to-weaken-rule-of-law/29938077.html?ltflags=mailer

A few years ago, Rob Gifford, author of China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power, spoke at a ChinaSource conference in Hong Kong. He talked about the economic and social challenges that were likely to force China into drastic restructuring, noting that demographics alone would require it to move from being a labor-intensive, manufacturing-based economy to something else. ‘One thing is certain’, Gifford said, ‘the next 30 years in China cannot look like the last 30 years.’

More recently, this sentiment was echoed by China watcher Bill Bishop, who wrote in November in the Axios[2] newsletter that ‘we have to accept that China under General Secretary Xi Jinping is materially different from the China we knew under Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin.’

One way that China is ‘materially different’ under Xi Jinping is a significantly tighter political environment. After three decades of loosening Communist Party control and expanding freedoms, Xi is systematically trying to reassert Party control over all sectors of society. This is behind so many of the reports we have seen of late of crackdowns and growing harassment/persecution of believers. However, the crackdowns are part of something much broader and it is a misinterpretation to assume that they are simply targeted at religion in general, or Christianity in particular.

This new political environment is impacting both local believers in China and foreign workers whohave been serving the church in China.

End of the era of openness

The past few decades have seen an increased openness for churches and believers.[3] The urban house church movement came into its own. Unlike the rural house church movement that had grown up during the era of intense persecution and of necessity had been ‘underground’, these urban house churches are often public (complete with websites) and have adopted a less confrontational stance towards the government. The goal has been to show the authorities that they are not a threat.

Even though religious regulations were not changed, enforcement was relaxed, leading to an expanded gray zone that allowed for the growth of Christian publishing, media, and education. Local officials had leeway in overseeing religious affairs in their jurisdictions, and some even cultivated relationships with church leaders. This contributed to a more relaxed environment as Christians could offer assurances of not being a threat. As long as local churches and believers did not cause trouble, they were largely left alone.

For the foreign Christian community serving in China, the past few decades have been marked by increasing openness as well. While still not being allowed to engage officially in religious work, foreign Christians could live and work in China on a variety of legitimate visa platforms. These included teaching, studying, operating registered commercial enterprises, and establishing locally-registered NGOs. Some were working independently, while others were quietly part of sending organizations. So long as their visa and residence permission papers were in order, they were operating their businesses according to local laws and regulations and were considered to be providing legitimate services to the community, their presence was tolerated.

The ‘New Normal’

The new environment, or ‘New Normal’[4] as it is sometimes referred to, is making things more difficult for local believers. In 2018, the government issued a new set of religious regulations that make it significantly more difficult for unregistered churches (house churches) to function. Penalties can be levied against landlords who rent to unregistered groups, and local officials are under pressure to be stricter in their enforcement of these regulations. As a result, a few large, high-profile house churches have been closed and their leaders detained. Other larger house churches have made plans to divide (or have divided) into smaller churches should the need arise. In some ways this can be seen as Communist Party-led church multiplication.

Registered churches (‘Three-self’ churches) are also feeling the pressure, with more political rhetoric and directives to ‘Sinicize’.[5] Many registered church leaders now have to spend more time managing their relationships with government officials, leaving less time for shepherding the flock.

Read the full report here: https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2019-05/the-new-normal-for-christianity-in-china?utm_source=Lausanne+Movement+List&utm_campaign=0f41363ced-Lausanne_Global_Analysis+-May2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_602c1cb67d-0f41363ced-91691477

Pray: that the doors will re-open to Christian workers and mission agencies.

Pray: for those being persecuted and marginalised because of their faith.

Pray: for protection of those 'at risk'

There has been much discussion circulating about the authenticity of the three “moderate scholars” who were promoted as such by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Much feedback also came in from Jihad Watchers. Referencing al-Qouda as “moderate” drew the concern of many. For this reason, a profile of the two most controversial scholars:  Sheikh Salman al-Ouda and Awad al-Qarni is included in this update.

News of the three men facing execution leaves many questions unanswered about the real reason Saudi Arabia is planning to execute them, particularly as there no freedom of speech and no freedom of the press in Saudi Arabia. As indicated below, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is unconvincing about his quest for modernized reform as the kingdom continues to embrace and spread Wahhabi ideology and persecute its authentic human rights activists—including the well known Raif Badawi and his sister Samar .

The most notorious of the three men slated for execution is Salman Al-Odah. This is his troubling jihadist profile and reported “change” to moderacy:

Salman Al-Odah was a known inciter of jihad terror and once referred to the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as “brother”. He was also “infamous for his 1990s sermons ‘Come for Jihad’ and ‘The Industry of Death’ “and for his sermons which were spread throughout Saudi Arabia and beyond. He issued calls for his followers to perform “jihad in Afghanistan, Iraq and other occupied Muslim lands.” In 2012, Al-Odah was quoted by MEMRI as saying: “Jews use human blood for passover matzos”.

According to Arab News, Al-Odah is characterized as a “chameleon cleric”. He reportedly “took a sharp turn at the end of the decade to become a voice of the Islamic Awakening (Al-Sahwa) movement”, and lauded for his “comparatively progressive views in the Islamic world on Sharia and homosexuality.” On the 6th anniversary of 9-11,  Arab News quoted him as saying openly on a TV show:

“My brother Osama, how much blood has been spilled? How many innocent people, children, elderly and women have been killed … in the name of Al-Qaeda? Will you be happy to meet God Almighty carrying the burden of these hundreds of thousands or millions of victims on your back?”

Yet, he was still banned as a hate preacher from Denmark in 2017.

Ayed Al-Qarni

Arab News reported that the wildly popular Qarni “with 19 million Twitter followers, was banned from preaching in the 1990s and arrested over his views, but later adopted pro-government stances.” Here one can note an oddity. Saudi Arabia has been noted for its spread of salafi ideology so what was it specifically about Qarni’s views that drew the ire of the Saudi kingdom? Arab News corroborated a Gulf News report that Al-Qarni issued an apology “for his hardline interpretations of Islam and called for a more modernised Islam”, and also expressed his commitment to Mohammed bin Salman.

It is interesting to also note that Al-Qarni was scheduled to do a speaking engagement with Tariq Ramadan in December 2015, the latter who is a Muslim Brotherhood promoting, disgraced accused rapist who is funded handsomely by Qatar. But according to the Center for Security Policy, the Muslim Brotherhood political action group that hosted them “suffered a setback… when Saudi cleric Sheikh Ayed al-Qarni was denied entry into the United States.”

It would seem to be that there is much more to the executions of these men than is being revealed. One thing can be certain: dirty politics and Wahhabi oppression are features of Saudi Arabia whether or not any of these men are now “moderate”.

“Three moderate scholars will reportedly be executed in Saudi Arabia after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The three men – Sheikh Salman al-Ouda, Awad al-Qarni and Ali al-Omari – are being held on multiple charges of terrorism.” Terrorism is the word used by jihad-sponsoring countries to cover up their misdeeds against anyone who opposes them. Amnesty International identified the men as “peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly”. They were not terrorists but opposing the Saudi regime’s oppressive sharia abuses. The Saudis executed 37 of its citizens for so-called “terrorism offences” last month.

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced that he will “return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam” last year. There has never been a ‘moderate’ normative Islam in 1400 years to begin with, so his use of the term “return” is fallacious.  Despite bin Salman’s appearance of good will,  Saudi Arabia has been persecuting Koranists, cracking down on any efforts toward modernizing, jailing women for human rights advocacy and it continues to promote Wahhabi ideology globally. Saudi Arabia was also  discovered to be auctioning off Yazidi sex slaves, who were captured by the Islamic State. And when it comes to the barbaric  practice of beheadings, the Islamic State has nothing over Saudi Arabia. Claiming efforts to modernize Islam in Saudi Arabia is merely a front.

They will be convicted and executed after the end of Ramadan next month, the Middle East Eye reports, citing two government sources and one of the men’s relatives.

Saudi authorities have not commented on the report.

Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said he could not confirm the report, but told The Independent: “What I can say is that Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against these men merely for their alleged peaceful political affiliations and opinions.”

He added: “We see this as a clear departure from past practice and an indication of just how much the repression level has increased since MBS [Mohammed bin Salman] became crown prince nearly two years ago.”

Mr Odah, who is known for his comparatively progressive views on Sharia (Islamic law) and homosexuality, was arrested in September 2017 after tweeting a prayer calling for reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar after Riyadh launched a blockade against the emirate.

Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Gulf researcher, told The Independent: “The Saudi Public Prosecution’s recurring calls for the death penalty in the case of a number of individuals being held for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression – including Sheikh Salman al-Ouda – raises real alarms for the fate of detained activists and religious clerics in the country.

“We’re calling on the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately release those detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and to drop any charges against them.”

Pray: for an end to the oppressive treatment of these innocent, peaceful people.

Pray: for a change of heart on the part of the Saudi government.

Pray: that the human rights of these and other unjustly imprisoned individuals will be respected.

More at: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/05/saudi-arabia-to-execute-three-muslim-scholars-after-ramadan

MAY 25, 2019 2:40 PM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

Focus: The Power of People Group Thinking, a Practical Resource for Reaching the Unreached

If you have a heart for prayer and mission for the fulfillment of the Great Commission, this book is written for you!

It has been put together for followers of Jesus who share His heartbeat for the peoples of the world. It is designed for you if you want to see His love, justice, and salvation begin to operate within a particular group of people for whom you are specially concerned.

If you are a missionary, an evangelist, a pastor, or a lay person who wants to better understand your target audience in order to have a greater impact, this book can help you. It will give you the tools to develop a ministry strategy that, coupled with Spirit-led prayer, will be relevant to the people you are trying to reach. Focus! will enable you to both pray and communicate the Gospel with new effectiveness and greater response. It will assist you to design ministry outreaches and programs that the Spirit of God can use to move a whole unreached group toward the salvation and social well-being He so deeply desires for them.

The author, John Robb, who serves as chairman of the IPC has devoted his life to both prayer and mission initiatives in more than 100 countries for over 50 years. Focus! went through three printings, was translated into over 20 languages, and has been used by many involved in cross-cultural missions around the world. Feel free to download it and also to share it with others who have an interest in making Christ known to those who still do not know Him.

Free Download available HERE

On 11 April you were asked to pray for Afghan translators, living in fear of retribution from the Taliban because they once served alongside British forces in wartime situations. The men and their families were promised visas for UK entry, but years later they are still in hiding in Afghanistan. You prayed for ‘the MoD to honour visa promises swiftly'. (Proverbs 3:23) On 27 May the media reported ‘the first Afghan translator arrived in the UK to start a new life with his family after years of death threats from the Taliban.’ Niz, his wife and their five children will live near Coventry, after living five years ‘in the shadows' because Niz worked as interpreter and was branded an infidel spy. Last week he became the first Afghan translator to begin a new life in Britain.

SPANISH

URDU

CHINESE

FINNISH