KNIFE ATTACKS ON EGYPT CHRCHES

Dear fellow laborers in the Faith,
Once again I would like to request your prayers for our brothers and sisters living in Egypt. The article below was released this morning concerning persecution against our Christian family. Unfortunately this is not an uncommon report to receive from this region of the world. Please pray for our family that God would grant them a spirit of forgiveness and mercy toward their oppressors. That God might give our family boldness to continue walking out their faith in a land filled with lies and darkness. Pray that God might use this unfortunate attack to open doors for our Christian family to share the love and Truth that can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Mostly please pray that our Great Savior would receive glory from the response of the Christians in this land

Knife attacks on Egypt churches
One person has been killed and at least 12 others injured by knife-wielding attackers at three churches in northern Egypt, police have said.
The attacks happened in Coptic churches in the city of Alexandria.
The simultaneous incidents took place during Friday Mass, and the attackers fled immediately afterwards.

Witnesses said clashes erupted between Christians and Muslims outside the churches, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Hundreds of Christians had gathered outside the churches in protest at the attacks, the agency said.

Police were reported to be searching for three assailants, one for each attack.
Witnesses said that at least one attacker had been detained, but no arrests have been confirmed.

An employee at one of the churches told the AFP news agency that people inside the church had fought back with sticks, but that the attacker had tried to escape through an underground passage.

Tensions
Most Christians in Egypt are Copts - Christians descended from the ancient Egyptians.
Their church split from the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in 451AD because of a theological dispute over the nature of Christ, but is now, on most issues, doctrinally similar to the Eastern Orthodox church.

Copts make up an estimated 10% of the Egyptian population of about 70 million, and they complain of discrimination and harassment.
They are concerned that new electoral rules are benefiting Islamist parties but not increasing Coptic political representation.

Three people died in Alexandria in October 2005 after Muslim demonstrators attacked a church which had put on a play seen as offensive to Islam.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4909378.stmPublished: 2006/04/14 12:13:49 GMT© BBC MMVI

Power of Prayer!

Afghanistan:
PRAISE Report! Abdul Rahman’s case has been dismissed and he has been released from prison! Abdul, who was turned into police by relatives for converting to Christianity from Islam, could have been sentenced to death under Afghan law. The courts announced that the case was dismissed on legal grounds (poor evidence and loop holes in the case), but it was most likely the world-wide attention on this case that caused the courts to back down. Please continue to keep Abdul in prayer as he is still in danger from Islamic fundamentalists for being an “apostate.” PRAISE God for the worldwide attention to this case and the awareness it has raised relative to the persecution of Christians. PRAY that this press coverage will become the norm rather than the exception on matters of persecution.

Report given by International Christian Concern www.persecution.org