Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin

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Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 218 | Wed 10 Jul 2013

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EGYPT: ISLAMIC WRATH FALLS ON THE CHURCH
                    plus Malaysia update
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by Elizabeth Kendal

On Wednesday 3 July the Egyptian military ousted the country's first
democratically elected President, Mohamed Morsi, and placed him under
'house arrest'. Tanks moved into Cairo, the Parliament was dissolved and
the Constitution was suspended. Whilst the military ousted Morsi in
pursuit of its own interests, it did so under the cover of anti-Morsi
protests, all but guaranteeing that Morsi's civilian opponents will suffer
the reprisals. No soft target so clearly represents opposition to Morsi
and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as the Coptic Church, making it
exceptionally vulnerable. The Coptic Pope compounded this vulnerability
when he blessed the coup and supported the suspension of the Constitution.
On Friday 5 July MB leader Mohamed Badie addressed a gathering of tens of
thousands of understandably enraged Islamists outside the Rabaa al-Adweya
Mosque in Nasr City, Cairo. He slammed the Coptic Pope, condemned the coup
and called on Muslims to rise up and not stop fighting until Morsi was
returned to office.

UPPER EGYPT: On Wednesday 3 July Islamists in Minya Governorate attacked
the evangelical church in el-Saleh, injuring two. In Delgia village dozens
of Christian homes were looted at gunpoint and burned by Muslim rioters
chanting anti-Christian slogans. Delgia's Coptic Church of St George was
set ablaze. The priest  survived only because his Muslim neighbours pulled
him out of the inferno and gave him refuge. Most Christians have now fled
the area. Further south in Qena, Islamic rioters attempted to attack the
main Coptic cathedral but were repelled by the military. The rioters then
looted and ransacked Coptic homes and businesses. Most Christians have now
fled this area. On Saturday 6 July Christians in the village of Nag Hassan
in Luxor Governorate came under attack from a Muslim mob; four people were
murdered and three others injured while 16 Coptic homes and businesses
were torched. The Church of the Virgin Mary was also attacked; most
Christians have now fled this area too.

MEDITERRANEAN COAST: On 3 July the military repelled Muslim rioters who
were stoning the Church of Holy Virgin in the coastal resort city of Marsa
Matrouh, 240km west of Alexandria. On 9 July gunmen opened fire on the Mar
Mina Church in Port Said (at the mouth of the Suez Canal); no casualties
were reported. SINAI: On 4 July at least two explosions were heard in the
Israeli city of Eilat on the Red Sea. Remnants were found of a Grad rocket
believed to have been fired by jihadists in the Sinai, Egypt. On 5 July
the military opened fire on Morsi supporters who were demonstrating during
Friday prayers in the coastal city of el-Arish, North Sinai, wounding at
least 21. Jihadists immediately retaliated, expelling the military and
raising the black flag of al-Qaeda. Salafi jihadist group, Salafiyya al
Jihadiyya, slammed the 'crime' and announced the formation of a new group,
Ansar al Sharia in Egypt, which it said was acquiring weapons and
preparing to fight.  The next day, gunmen on a motorbike shot dead a
Coptic priest, Mena Aboud Sharoben (39), as he was walking through the
Masaeed area in el-Arish.

JUST THE BEGINNING: Whilst the military may have ousted an Islamist
President, dissolved a Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Parliament and
suspended an Islamised Constitution, these actions have actually increased
the risk to Egyptian Christians. Military violence - such as the army's
firing on pro-Morsi demonstrators in Cairo on Monday 8 July, killing 51
and wounding more than 300 - is only further inflaming the situation. The
coup will serve to radicalise many MB supporters, especially as Islamic
groups from Tunisia to Somalia are citing the coup as proof that democracy
does not work and that Islam can be established only by the bullet not the
ballot. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri (an Egyptian) has ominously warned:
'The battle in Egypt is far from over, it has only just begun.'

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL -

* pour out his Holy Spirit abundantly on the Church in Egypt, so that the
  fears of Christians may be calmed and so they will trust the Lord for
  their every need.

'I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help
comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.' (Psalm 121:1,2 ESV)

* shield, protect, sustain and deliver all who look to him in faith.

'Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes
refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of
destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfils his
purpose for me.' (Psalm 57:1,2 ESV)

* use the present troubles to awaken Arabs not merely to the fact that
  Islam is not the solution, but to the truth that the solution and
  empowerment for transformation are found in Jesus Christ.

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RAMADAN commenced on 9 July and will run through to 7 August. Please pray
for Muslims during Ramadan. For resources, visit http://www.30-days.net/

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SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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ISLAMIC WRATH FALLS ON THE CHURCH IN EGYPT

Egyptian Islamists are understandably furious that their democratically
elected President Morsi has been ousted in a military coup effected under
the cover of anti-Morsi protests. The Coptic Church is clearly a soft
target amongst the opposition to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, making
it exceptionally vulnerable to Islamic reprisals. Since the 3 July coup
churches have been attacked in the cities of Marsa Matrouh and Port Said
on the Mediterranean coast, as well as in al-Arish, North Sinai, where a
Coptic priest was assassinated. In Minya and Luxor Governorates, Upper
Egypt, many churches have been attacked, four Christians killed and dozens
of Christian homes and businesses have been looted and torched by Islamic
mobs chanting anti-Christian slogans. Hundreds of Christian families have
fled. Please pray for the Church in Egypt.

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MALAYSIA UPDATE

RLPB 217 (3 July 2013) called for prayer against the Administration of the
Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 which would permit the
unilateral forced conversion of minors. Praise God: on Friday 5 July, the
Cabinet agreed to withdraw the Bill so that it might be reviewed by
Cabinet. Groups that have protested the Bill are calling on the government
to amend related laws that contain the same wording. Meanwhile, Islamic
leaders who maintain that 'there is no need for both parents to consent to
their children's conversion if one of the parents has already embraced the
Islamic faith' are calling on Muslims to rise up and unite in defence of
Islam. Pray that the government will have the courage to protect human
rights and implement the law in the face of Islamic challenges.

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We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might
also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their
worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious
Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international
religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam
and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of
Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

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