SAT-7 Kids presenter Mr Know visited camps for internally displaced people in Iraq. ‘I thought people would be miserable. The children miss their school and friends but they are full of hope. This is not denial. They talked about IS; one youngster said, ‘I will never react to what they have done to me;instead, I will pray that they feel the forgiveness of God in their hearts,’ Mr Know interviewed 11 year-old Miriam, asking if she was angry with Jesus because of what she had suffered but she said, ‘I know that he loves me because he kept me with my family; not one of us was kidnapped or sold.’ Mr Know began to cry and astonishingly Miriam comforted him, saying, ‘Do not cry for us. Your Christian broadcasting is giving us hope on screen. It is our turn to give you hope’.

Abraham, Job, Moses, and Jesus walked Jordan’s land. Today only 2% of the population are Christian and Christians are persecuted or oppressed as a result of government policy. Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp is 10 kilometres east of Mafraq and has gradually evolved into a permanent settlement since opening in July 2012 to host Syrians fleeing the civil war. The camp features market-like structures along the main street where vegetables, basic household equipment and clothes are sold. There are also coffee shops where shisha can be smoked. The population has been increasing consistently and there have been demonstrations over lack of food supplies and poor accommodation. In the midst of the camp are Christians seeking to minister in these difficult conditions. Pray that in the heart of such hardship and uncertainty God will reveal Himself to many. Pray for families to have the opportunity to be resettled elsewhere. See also 

Both countries face collapsed governance. In Libya militias, tribes and militant groups vie for control. Egyptian Coptic Christians have borne the brunt of instability, with at least 20 reported abductions since December 2014. There is serious concern that IS or a similar regime could take control. In Yemen Houthi rebels control the capital and there are waves of Al-Qaeda terror.The expansion of IS’ expansion and  its competition with Al-Qaeda and its associates are fuelling jihadi activities. Both countries face a precarious year ahead. 99.5% of the population in Yemen are Muslims (9,056 Christians). In Libya the situation for Christians has deteriorated since the downfall of Gaddafi. The government claims all Libyans are Sunni Muslims. It’s illegal to import Arabic Bibles or to evangelise.The Yemen power vacuum puts the future into peril and Libya has fallen from Africa’s richest state under Gaddafi, to a failed state after NATO Intervention – see: 

Monsignor Oliver Dashe Doeme, Cotholic, Bishop of Maiduguri said, ‘We find ourselves in a very dangerous and difficult moment. We risk seeing Boko Haram conquer the entire north-east of Nigeria before the end of the election, unless foreign troops intervene.’ Presidential elections will be held February 14th. ‘The situation is very complex and the first victims are innocent civilians.’ concluded the Bishop who implied the existence of some ‘saboteurs’ and accomplices within the Nigerian army, who favour the advance of Boko Haram for political reasons. ‘Despite the violence Christianity continues to grow. Their faith is strengthened in the face of tribulation. What is heart-breaking is the number of displaced people.Refugee camps are growing. World Watch Monitor quotes a Nigerian cleric ‘What IS has done in Iraq, Boko Haram is doing in Nigeria.’ Pray that political parties and presidential candidates with Islamic agendas for Nigeria will not be elected.

News articles have an enormous marketplace and give a platform to share ideas, draw attention to incidents, communities and situations that need change. They give educated comments and decision  and we rely on reporting to be honest with educated comments. However the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, plans to sue an American news network, Fox News, for inaccurate reports about Muslim 'no-go areas' in the city, claiming the people of Paris had been insulted and the city’s image had been damaged. Recently Fox News network ran multiple reports describing areas of Paris and British cities that were governed by Sharia law and off-limits to non-Muslims. Her comments came as a senior US politician said that in some European countries immigrant communities lived outside the reach of the law and the police.

Since last November the Indonesian town of Poso and the surrounding province have seen an escalation of targeted attacks and barbarism causing increasing ‘panic’ among people and appeals to the government to assure safety. Recent weeks have seen kidnappings, assassinations by Islamic Tendency with the barbaric mutilation of bodies. In spite of the 2001 peace agreement to end years of bloody clashes between Muslims and Christians, the region looks set to fall into chaos again. The situation is delicate, so much so that the police and local authorities invite citizens - for security reasons - not to leave their homes. The prohibition is extended to the farmers, who cannot tend their fields. In an attempt to end the violence, activists and human rights groups in the area have promoted a peace initiative, calling for the state to intervene to ensure the safety of citizens.

The Christian community in Niger experienced weekend violence that claimed the lives of ten people and led to the destruction of dozens of places of worship and Christian homes. The protest started in the country’s second city, Zinder, quickly spreading to surrounding areas. Ten people died, and more than 70 churches were destroyed, along with Christian schools, organisations including an orphanage run by the Assembly of God Church.  Forty orphans are under the care of police. Over 30 Christian homes were looted and burnt. Those affected are left them with ‘only the clothes on our e backs.’ Lack of security forces intervention turned Christians and their properties into easy targets for the protesters and looters. Niger’s president said, ‘Those who plunder places of worship, persecute and kill their Christian compatriots, or foreigners living on the soil of our country, did not understand anything about Islam’. The church has called Christians to respond with the love of Christ.

Towns in the provinces have experienced a return of armed confrontations. There is no let-up for the civilian population and people are continuing to cross over the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo to seek refuge there. Fighting is reported between the Seleka and anti-Balaka in Dékoa, fierce fighting in Djimbi between Goula and  Runga tribespeople (all Seleka) has lead to a number of deaths with townspeople hiding in their houses. Muslims and French Sangaris troops have been locked in mortal combat in Bria. Sadly this is the climate in which preparations are being made for the Bangui Forum which is supposed to be a national dialogue that will restore peace to the CAR. Delegations including representatives of different religions will go up and down the country holding preparatory talks in different places. (Including areas where fighting is going on).

The murderous attack on the office of French magazine Charlie Hebdo has renewed the debate in Australia about Section 18C of the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975. Free market think-tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, has called on the Abbott Government to repeal Section 18C. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has also backed calls for the Government to revisit the debate about freedom of speech. ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said all public debate should be conducted respectfully but it should not be against the law to ‘insult’ or ‘offend’. ‘Inciting hatred or violence would still be an offence, but not ‘insulting’ or ‘offending’,’ Mr Shelton said.

On Monday a wave of violence that closed embassies and businesses engulfed the poorest country in the Arab world and could reshape its political landscape. Street battles raged between Shiite Houthi rebels and government forces in Yemen's capital and talks between President Hadi and representatives of the Houthi rebels broke down. (Houthis rejected a draft constitution dividing Yemen into six regions.) On Tuesday, Houthi rebels shelled the presidential palace and seized the state-run media. The commander of the Presidential Protection Force said, ‘what is happening is a coup.’ The powerful Houthi rebel movement dominates northern Yemen and seeks to strengthen the rights of the Zaidi sect (20-30% of the population). Clashes between government forces and Houthi rebels may strengthen Al Qaeda's position. Yemen is number 14 on Open Doors World Watch List of persecutors of Christians.