Nigeria: Muslims Attack Two Churches, Murdering Three and Wounding Dozens

From Jihad Watch:

The Islamic supremacist group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility. Will the Islamophobia never end? (tongue in cheek!)

"Two churches in Nigeria attacked by gunmen and suicide bomber," by Ahmed Saka for the Associated Press, June 10 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives Sunday outside a church in central Nigeria as gunmen attacked another church in the nation's northeast, killing at least three people and wounding dozens of others in the latest religious violence in a country under increasing assault by a radical Islamist sect, witnesses said.

In Jos, a city on the uneasy dividing line between Nigeria's largely Muslim north and Christian south, the suicide car bomber drove into the compound of the Evangelical Church Winning All chapel in the city, said Mark Lipdo, who runs a Christian advocacy group called the Stefanos Foundation. The explosion killed two worshippers and the suicide bomber, while wounding more than 40 others, a senior police officer at the scene told The Associated Press. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as the information was not to be immediately released to journalists.

The officer warned others likely could die as they suffered grave injuries.

Meanwhile in Biu, a city in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, gunmen opened fire during a service at an EYN church, an acronym that means "Church of the Brethen in Nigeria" in the local Hausa language of Nigeria's north, witnesses said. An usher at the church was killed while others were injured, said the Rev. Samson Bukar, a local Christian leader.

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ISRAEL: Christian Church Evicted

Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions in Jerusalem recently received a 30-day notice of eviction from the owner of the building where his church currently worships.

"The pressure from the Muslim community is so strong that the landlord is given no other choice but to do this," Khoury wrote in a letter to The Voice of the Martyrs. "With just 30 days left to move a church community, another Band-Aid solution of renting a place is not a viable solution. Our church community needs permanent roots."

In response to the eviction notice, the Holy Land Missions community immediately entered a time of fasting and prayer, and Khoury has increased his efforts to find a permanent church home.

The church has been vandalized over the years, and church members have been physically attacked on several occasions. Despite this, the church has grown. Attendance has increased so much that worshippers now stand in the hallways to hear the gospel.

Pastor Khoury asks for our prayers as they seek a new location for their church. Pray for God's provision and protection.

Pray that the church will continue to be a light in the darkness, drawing many more to faith in Christ.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." 1 Peter 5:8-10

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SOMALIA: Christian Killed by Unidentified Gunmen

On May 6, unidentified gunmen killed 27-year-old "Aaban" near his home in the city of Jawhar, Middle Shabelle, according to VOM contacts.

Although the motive for Aaban's murder is unknown, local believers strongly suspect he was killed because of his faith in Christ. Aaban converted to Christianity from Islam three years ago. VOM contacts report that Aaban's family was unaware of his conversion and that he was given a Muslim burial.

The militant Muslim group al-Shabab controls the city of Jawhar. A 25-year-old woman was abducted by al-Shabab extremists there in June 2010 and never heard from again.

In January 2012, al-Shabab extremists beheaded believer Zakaria Hussein Omar near Mogadishu. Before his killing, a friend had said, "We have been communicating with Omar, and he was sharing with me his life as a Christian. Last year he [told] me that his life was in danger."

Sources: VOM contacts and Compass Direct News

Please pray for the safety and protection of believers in Somalia and that God will provide new ways of spreading the gospel. Pray for Aaban's family in their time of loss, and pray that they and other Muslims will come to faith in Christ.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21.23

The Voice of the Martyrs assists pastors in areas of intense persecution in the Horn of Africa.

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