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Třiadvacetiletý pákistánský křesťan zemřel na následky zranění, která mu způsobilo pětidenní surové mučení ze strany islámských militantů, když odmítl konvertovat na islám. Javed Anjum, křesťan z oblasti Toba Tek Singh, byl mučen pět dní a nocí islámskými extrémisty z islámské školy madrassa. Byl mučen elektrickými šoky a pálen rozžhavenou železnou tyčí. Byl 11 dní hospitalizován a v neděli 2. května ráno zemřel v nemocnici Allied Hospital ve Faisalabadu. Podle lékařů zemřel na selhání ledvin. Měl zlomenou pravou ruku, elektrické šoky do ucha mu poškodily sluch a přestal mu fungovat močový měchýř. Před svou smrtí uvedl ve své výpovědi pro policii: „V blízkosti islámské školy madrassa jsem hledal vodu, když přišli mullahové a odvlekli mě dovnitř, kde mě obvinili, že jsem zloděj a že jsem se snažil ukrást vodní pumpu. Toto obvinění jsem odmítl a řekl jsem jejich islámským vůdcům, že jsem křesťan a student. Přijel jsem na svatbu. Jakmile islámští extrémisté zjistili, že jsem křesťan, chtěli, abych konvertoval na islám. Odmítl jsem, a tak mě začali mučit. Mučili mě celou noc. To mučení bylo zlé a neustále mě nutili, abych přijal islámskou víru.“ (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
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Přestože s pomocí techniky to není možné dokázat, muž, který financuje letní expedici k nalezení Noemovy archy, věří, že zná přesnou polohu starodávného plavidla. Expedice na vrchol turecké hory Ararat je pokusem, který, jak organizátoři doufají, dokáže, že předmět, který vyčnívá ze sněhu a ledu, je skutečně Noemova archa. Ahmet Ali Arslan, turecký horolezec a vůdce připravované expedice, říká, že se mu podařilo v roce 1989 vylézt až čtvrt míle vysoko na to, čemu věří, že je archa. Říká, že to vypadá jako „velká stodola“ s něčím, jako „střecha“ na vrchu. „Pod zastřešením jsem viděl dvě okna a pak zcela jasně viditelné paprsky,“ řekl průvodce. Daniel McGivern, který cestu financuje, říká, že cílem je vstoupit do mamutí stavby, která byla částečně odhalena vlivem poslední horké letní vlny v Evropě. „Skutečně cítíme, že se jedná o Noemovu archu,“ řekl McGivern. „Jestli jsme si jisti? To nemůžeme být, dokud tam nevstoupíme.“ Badatelé už dlouho hledají Noemovu archu na téměř 18000 stop vysoké hoře, kde podle biblických pramenů měla po velké potopě skončit. (Religion Today/Agape Press)
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ISLAMIC MILITANTS TORTURE PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN TO DEATH
A 23-year-old Pakistani Christian has died of injuries as a result of five
days of severe torture by Islamic militants for refusing to convert to
Islam. Javed Anjum, a Christian from the Toba Tek Singh district, was
tortured for five days and nights by Islamic extremists from a madrassa
(Islamic school) in the district. The torture included electric shocks and
burns from hot iron rods. He was hospitalized for 11 days, and died at the
Allied Hospital in Faisalabad early Sunday, May 2. Doctors said his kidneys
had failed. His right arm was also fractured, electric shocks to his ears
had affected his hearing and his bladder had stopped working. In his
statement to the police before he died, Anjum said: "I was searching for
water near the Islamic madrassa when the mullahs took me inside and told me
that I was a thief and was trying to steal the water pump. I rejected the
charge and told the Islamic leaders that I am a Christian youth and a
student. I had come here to attend a marriage. As soon as the Islamic
extremists came to know that I am Christian they asked me to convert to
Islam. I refused, and they started torturing me. They continued the torture
all night. They tortured me badly and continuously asked me to accept
Islam." (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
COLOMBIAN GUERRILLAS RELEASE CHRISTIAN AGRONOMIST
The Christian agronomist kidnapped March 17 by rebels from the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was unexpectedly freed Saturday, April 29,
in what his brother said was the answer to prayers raised around the world.
Ahimer Velásquez, 31, was freed unharmed after 44 days in captivity. His
brother, Carlos Velásquez, a Medellín pastor and Prison Fellowship
evangelist, said no ransom was paid or promised in exchange for his freedom.
After his release, the municipality of Caicedo, which employs Ahimer to help
its peasant farmers improve crop production, showered the family with gifts
in a party that lasted into the evening. As the family traveled to Medellín
the next day, three armed criminals stopped their vehicle and robbed them of
everything, including the approximately $800 in cash gifts Caicedo residents
had given to Ahimer. Carlos had "no explanation" for his brother's release.
Luís Carlos Herrera, the Antioquia department secretary of agriculture who
was kidnapped with Ahimer, remains a FARC hostage. Rebels are demanding
$80,000 for his ransom. (Compass)
* Together with local partners, HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel on FM
stations in four Colombian cities. The ministry also continues to air
Spanish programs across the country and all of Latin America via shortwave
from Quito.
TENT CHURCH DEMOLITION AVERTED IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Building inspectors from Leskovac, a city in Serbia and Montenegro, along
with three police cars, an electrical distribution company crew and a
demolition team attempted to execute a Serbian Supreme Court decision to
demolish a tent used by the Protestant Evangelical Romani Church on Friday,
April 30. Almost 1,000 believers from the church, meeting both in the tent
and in a yard, held a worship concert, thus stopping the demolition. Later
in the day, church and community representatives, with the chief building
inspector and a police commander, made a written agreement to postpone the
court decision until the city council makes another location for the tent
available in a different part of town. "The land where the tent is belongs
to us," said Selim Alijevic, a Romani pastor. "Although the tent as a
building is illegal, so are the 460 other houses and buildings in the
neighborhood. This land is stated to be a water supply area, so any building
is prohibited. However, no one in the suburb has ever received a demolition
order except us. We appealed to the various relevant courts during the last
two years, and now the final decision has been made. We have to go, because
the Supreme Court says so." The Romani Evangelical Church is the fastest
growing denomination in Serbia and Montenegro with at least 10 mission
stations and newly planted churches in the last two years. (Forum 18 News
Service)
GROWING RESISTANCE FAILS TO STOP NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER IN U.S.
A Christian attorney is encouraging U.S. government officials nationwide not
to interfere with the 53rd annual National Day of Prayer observances set for
Thursday, May 6. More than 20,000 organized observances of the special day
will take place nationwide. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, a
litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing
religious freedom, warns that government officials who try to curtail
activities in observance of the National Day of Prayer could face legal
action. "One of the things that we will ensure this year is that the event
gets equal treatment and equal access," he said. Although the National Day
of Prayer was established by an act of Congress in 1952, in recent years the
event has faced growing resistance from groups such as the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU). Staver says the nationwide observance was set aside
as a time for the people, including mayors and other governmental leaders,
to gather at various meetings, to acknowledge God and pray. "They shouldn't
be intimidated by the ACLU, and certainly governments should not censor the
National Day of Prayer," he said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of believers are gathered on the west lawn of the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C., today as part of a "Bible Reading Marathon" to
read the entire Bible aloud publicly without commentary for 80 continuous
hours. "It's a an effort to get people to read the Bible," says Marathon
Director Mike Hall of Bible Pathway Ministries. "This is the 15th year we've
done that. We're standing here, exercising our First Amendment rights,
freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and most importantly, freedom of
religion." The marathon culminates with the National Day of Prayer. Hall
says the event transcends denominational lines. "All of the volunteers that
are standing here feel like they're a living embodiment of Isaiah 55 where
God declares that His Word will go forth to accomplish His purposes."
(Religion Today/Agape Press/Mission Network News)
EXPLORERS TO SEARCH TURKISH MOUNTAIN FOR NOAH'S ARK
Although technology may not be able to prove it, the man financing a summer
expedition to find Noah's Ark believes he knows the exact location of the
ancient vessel. The expedition to the upper reaches of Turkey's Mount Ararat
is an effort that organizers hope will prove that an object protruding from
the snow and ice is indeed Noah's Ark. Ahmet Ali Arslan, a Turkish
mountaineer and leader of the planned expedition, says in 1989 he was able
to climb to within a quarter mile of what he believes is the ark. He says it
looks like a "huge barn" with a "roof-like" top. "I saw two windows under
the roofing, and then beams that are completely visible," the guide said.
Daniel McGivern, who is financing the trek, says the goal is to enter what
they believe to be a mammoth structure that was partially exposed by last
summer's heat wave in Europe. "We really feel that we have Noah's Ark,"
McGivern said. "Do we know it for sure? You never know until you walk into
it." Explorers have long searched for Noah's Ark on the nearly 18,000-foot
mountain where the biblical account of the Great Flood places it. (Religion
Today/Agape Press)
INCREASED GIVING ALLOWS SOUTHERN BAPTISTS TO ADD 200 MISSIONARIES
The tide may be turning for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board
(IMB) in its quest to send out more missionaries. The lack of funding last
year forced the IMB to limit the number missionaries sent to the foreign
field. But increased giving to the 2003 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in
December is allowing the IMB to send an additional 200 missionaries overseas
this year. With a month to go before the books are closed, it appears the
IMB will have almost $127 million for the board's missionary effort, $19
million more than last year. (Mission Network News) |
Zprávy HCJB 5.5.2004
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