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Friday, 07 June 2019 05:35

East Asia Younger Leaders Gathering

220 younger leaders from China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong gathered from 25-28 March in South Korea, for the first-ever Lausanne East Asia Younger Leaders Gathering. Young leaders from every region of East Asia found friendship across and within dividing lines and rediscovered the power of faithful communal witness, focusing on ‘The Essence of the Gospel - Unity in Diversity’. Nearly a quarter of the world’s population live in East Asia, with its full spectrum of political, cultural, geographical, and religious diversity. Their history is fraught with longstanding animosity between nations; but Christianity in the region is full of cross-pollinating friendships. The Korean translation of the Bible was born in China and one of the first leaders of the Korean church was discipled by a Japanese Christian. Today the East Asian Church is utilising the hands and feet, ears, brain, mouth and heart, to bring the gospel to East Asia and beyond - no matter the cost.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 07 June 2019 05:30

Iraq: Displaced elderly Christians

Displacement by IS has inflicted trauma on Iraq’s Christians, particularly the elderly. Reconstruction goes on, but for elderly believers, displacement has placed them in a living coffin. Their relatives have fled the country and many are completely alone and unable easily to access the aid available to others more mobile. Sara doesn’t know her age, just the memories of at least 60 years gone by. Looking at her tattered furnishings, one would never know that until very recently, Sara’s life was completely different. She lived comfortably in a beautiful house surrounded by family. Now, sickness traps her in this small closet and her family is scattered across the world. Sara is alone, with only the Rubik’s Cube in her hands to keep her company. Her front door is slightly ajar, a signal of hope that someone will walk by and choose to pass the time with her.

Published in Worldwide

Images of a controversial administrative order went viral across Iranian social media in recent days, enraging large sections of the country's religious minorities and causing widespread public outrage. Iranian authorities had to revise the official order that sought to ban religious minorities from teaching at government-run kindergartens. A Zoroastrian parliamentarian reminded the government of a paragraph in the Iranian Constitution which advises against any form of discrimination and calls for equal opportunities. He also demanded Iran ‘will no longer witness such inhumane and unethical decisions against the followers of divine religions.’ Iran's religious minorities have experienced widespread discriminatory policies and practices. In particular, Baha'is, Zoroastrians, Sunni Muslims and of course Christians.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 31 May 2019 12:36

The Staggering Rise of the Church in Iran

Robert Bruce, a Scottish missionary to Iranian Muslims in the late nineteenth century, wrote home to his supporters, “I am not reaping the harvest; I scarcely claim to be sowing the seed; I am hardly ploughing the soil; but I am gathering out the stones. That, too, is missionary work; let it be supported by loving sympathy and fervent prayer.”

For many years, Iran was one of the most difficult regions of the world to reach with the gospel. A significant development occurred in 1979, however, with the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The ruling monarch, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown, and in his place an Islamic Republic was birthed, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Sharia law became the law of the land, and Muslim clerics became the heads of state.

Many in those days believed the revolution would lead to a time of flourishing in Iranian society. The new regime made great promises about rights and economic progress, as Iran was finally free from the influence of the West. The laws of man would be replaced by the laws of God, they claimed. Under the Republic, conversion to any other religion was considered apostasy and could be punished with death.

Door Opens

As we near the fortieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, however, we see that the prayers of many Christians over the years have been answered, and the climate in Iran is vastly different. The gospel has spread throughout the land in unprecedented fashion despite increased persecution of Christian believers. To use the words of the apostle Paul, “A wide door for effective work has opened . . . and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

As of 1979, there were about five hundred known Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. In 2005, it was estimated that there were 40,000 ethnic Iranian Christians (not including ethnic minority Christians who live in Iran). That number grew to about 175,000 Christians in 2010, according to the Joshua Project. Today, the average estimates of Christians within Iran range from 300,000 to upwards of one million, according to some missions experts. Operation World, a missions research organization, continues to list Iran as having the fastest-growing evangelical church in the world. In fact, more Iranians have become Christians in the last twenty years than in the previous 1,300 years, since Islam came to Iran.

Four Reasons for Growth

Several factors have contributed to the rapid growth of the church in Iran. Here are four of the most important.

1. Disillusionment with Islam

Since the time of the revolution, the Islamic regime, which promised much in the way of economic development and freedom, has not delivered. Rather than prosperity and growth, the economy stagnated. The people also have been oppressed — women punished for not covering their hair, and others punished for speaking out freely in protest. As a result, the country has isolated itself further from the rest of the world.

Ironically, because the Islamic Republic in Iran has tied religion and state so closely together, the people’s disappointment with the government has led to great skepticism of Islam. Consequently, Iranians have become increasingly open to hearing the Christian message.

2. Persecution

The rise of persecution against Christians in Iran has served both as a sign of the rapid growth of Christianity within the country and as fuel for further growth. In the 1990s, several key leaders of the church in Iran were killed. One of the most famous martyrs, Mehdi Dibaj, gave a defense before the Islamic courts prior to his death that has become a rallying cry for many Christians in Iran. Dibaj declared,

I would rather have the whole world against me, but know that the Almighty God is with me; be called an apostate, but know that I have the approval of the God of glory. . . .

Life for me is an opportunity to serve him, and death is a better opportunity to be with Christ. Therefore I am not only satisfied to be in prison for the honor of his Holy Name, but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus my Lord and enter his kingdom sooner, the place where the elect of God enter to everlasting life.

Examples like this have emboldened the church as the faithful remember the words of Jesus, “Because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). In 2010, many church planters and leaders were arrested. I had the privilege of visiting with one of these faithful brothers after he served five years in prison. He recounted the moment when he received news that many of his colleagues were being arrested.

Briefly, he considered fleeing. But then he remembered the words of Jesus from John 10, that he is not the hired hand who sees the wolves coming and flees, but he is rather the good shepherd, who lays his life down for his sheep (John 10:11–12). He told me he went home knowing it would lead to his arrest, but he saw prison as an assignment by God to be a ministry post for him to reach many within prison.

This persecution has served to motivate further evangelistic zeal among Iranian Christians. These faithful servants are modern-day examples of Paul, who once wrote, “Most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14).

3. The Diaspora and Use of Media

A countless number of Iranian Christians have been scattered around the world. Many of these saints sense a unique calling to continue supporting the work of gospel advancement within Iran from the outside.

The advancement of technology through the Internet and satellite TV has made the Christian message more accessible to Iranians who may have never even met a Christian. The diaspora Christians have been active in broadcasting the gospel and Bible teaching into Iran. In the last decade, social media also has been a powerful tool to reach Iranians and teach them the truths of Scripture.

4. Bible Distribution

Although persecution has not produced the results that the Iranian authorities wanted, they have continued to work hard to stamp out the message of Christianity. The Bible (especially the New Testament) is banned literature in Iran.

But the people have been hungry for the word of God. There have been over two million New Testaments printed in recent years for dissemination in Iran, and about 180,000 entire Bibles have been distributed within the country. As Paul told Timothy, “The word of God is not bound!” (2 Timothy 2:9).

Three Ways to Pray

These are some factors that have contributed to the rapid growth of the church in Iran. But ultimately, the kingdom of Christ is spreading within Iran because God’s Spirit is moving powerfully. Though there has been great progress, the need for prayer and support continues to be great. Would you join me in praying for Iran — its people and leaders? Here are three ways you can pray for the church.

 1. Courage

Although the number of house churches and believers is growing every day, the opposition continues. Iranian Christians continue to be arrested and charged with acting against national security. House churches continue to meet secretly while shifting their meeting times and locations to stay undetected. Christians continue to evangelize, knowing they are putting their lives at risk.

 2. Unity

Since most of the activity of the church is done secretly, the Christians are isolated from each other. Iranian leaders are forced to work covertly and therefore apart from each other. Security concerns make collaborative efforts difficult, even among ministries outside of Iran that work within the country. All of this creates obstacles for unity.

 3. Trained Leaders

The nature of the underground church is such that, many times, house-church leaders are unqualified and untrained, and sometimes, there is no pastor in the group and the gathered believers are being fed solely through satellite TV. Some of the teaching that the church absorbs is not sound theology. Iranians don’t have the same access to Christian literature and training as many believers do throughout the rest of the world. There are ministries who are already working hard to meet this need by making quality training available for leaders, and we need to pray for this work.

These words of Jesus may sum up the situation best in Iran: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38). Let’s pray the Lord of the harvest continues to send his laborers throughout Iran, so that millions more Iranians find forgiveness, peace, and the hope of glory through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Article by Afshin Ziafat, Pastor, Frisco, Texas - (@afshinziafat) is lead pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, Texas. His passion is to teach the word of God as the authority and guide for life, to preach Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Redeemer of mankind, and to proclaim the love of Christ as the greatest treasure and hope in life. He and his wife, Meredith, currently reside in Frisco with their three children.

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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

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Friday, 31 May 2019 12:17

China: The New Normal for Christianity

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'

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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

During Donald Trump’s state visit to Japan he told Emperor Naruhito that he would support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to act as a mediator between the US and Iran. Abe will visit Tehran next month for talks with the President, Hassan Rouhani. Trump also gave his backing to Abe’s attempts to set up a first summit, without preconditions, with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hours after the regime described his national security adviser, John Bolton, as a ‘warmonger’. Currently Tehran has no interest in talking to the US administration and last week sent 1,500 troops to the region. Trump wants Iran to have no nuclear weapons. Trump’s conciliatory tone extended to North Korea, despite deadlocked denuclearisation talks and Pyongyang’s recent testing of short-range missiles. He said his relationship with Kim was one of ‘great respect’, and talked up the prospects for progress on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 31 May 2019 07:05

Syria: Another wave of conflict

Over 40 civilians killed on 28 May were the latest casualties from barrel bomb bombardments in northwest Syria that have damaged schools and hospitals. Families are dying from government fire on towns in Idlib and the Aleppo countryside which is under the control of jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The region is supposed to be protected from government offensives by a buffer zone deal, but the area has come under increasing bombardment by the regime and Russia since late April. 260+ civilians have been killed in the spike in violence since then. The UN said that over 200,000 civilians have already been displaced by the recent upsurge of violence and an all-out offensive on the region would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for its nearly 3 million residents. Over 20 health facilities have been hit by the escalation. Nineteen remain out of service.

Published in Worldwide