Middle East Fund - 00-1032

From Twitter

• Authorities close #Christian worship places after Islamist protests "a dark time in the history of religious freedom" http://t.co/hafeMZWH 3 hours ago

• Today's Egyptian presidential elections "marked by fear and disappointment" amid Islamist domination. http://t.co/TVknHeYa 3 hours ago

• Joseph Francis, Barnabas partner in Pakistan, hailed a "hero" in new book for his work to help the country's minorities http://t.co/tLEqVIz9 Tue, May 2012 16:19

• #Christian gathering in Uzbekistan raided. All convicted for “Attracting believers of one confession to another” http://t.co/eWcBIuXe Tue, May 2012 16:16

• Islamists hurl bags of urine, sewage, rotten eggs and stones at beleaguered Indonesian congregation http://t.co/X8g78o4h Mon, May 2012 16:55

Daily prayer

• Three churches in the Iranian capital, Tehran, have recently been ordered to stop holding Friday services in Farsi, the Iranian national language. One church was told that if the order was ignored, the building would be bombed “as happens in Iraq every day”. It is easier for people to attend a church service on a Friday, the main weekend day, than on Sunday, which is a working day. The Iranian authorities are concerned at the number of Muslims turning to Christ, and these restrictions seem designed to make it harder for Muslims to hear the Gospel. Pray that the government’s plan will not succeed, and that the churches in Iran will continue to grow. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 19 hours ago

• Egyptians go to the polls tomorrow (23 May) for the first round of voting in landmark presidential elections. The contest will see Islamist candidates go head-to-head with former members of the Mubarak government and poses a huge dilemma for Christian voters. Despite suffering discrimination and persecution under the old regime, Christians are mostly supporting one of its candidates, fearing that an Islamist president would turn the country into an Islamic state. The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohamed Mursi, has vowed to implement sharia if elected, and a recent opinion poll found strong support for this agenda. Pray that the new president will run Egypt in such a way that Christians “may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2b), and that their rights will be upheld. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Tue, May 2012 00:00

• The Cuban authorities have also been clamping down hard on Christian human rights activists. On 4 March, Caridad Caballero Batista and her husband Esteban Sade Suarez were detained on their way to church, mistreated and held in a poorly ventilated, mosquito-infested cell for three hours. Since the start of the year they have been blocked, and sometimes violently prevented, from attending Christian activities. Other Christian activists have also been arrested or prevented from attending worship services. Give thanks that the churches in Cuba are growing, and pray that they may be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Mon, May 2012 00:00

• Threats, beatings, arrests and fines: these are all penalties suffered by Cuban pastors in a recent crackdown by the authorities. One church leader, from Moa, sustained brain damage in a brutal assault on 6 February; it is thought he was targeted because he challenged the confiscation of a vehicle owned by the church. In another incident, on 25 February, four leaders were detained in Bayamo while sharing the Gospel at the local bus station. One of them was so badly beaten that he required hospital treatment. In Havana a pastor has been repeatedly fined huge sums because his church is not registered, while another has faced threats of violence because of his congregation’s outreach to people on the margins of society. Pray for these leaders as they recover from their ordeal, and for an end to the official harassment. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sun, May 2012 00:00

• Unregistered churches in Kazakhstan can face intense harassment from the authorities. On 8 February Aleksei Asetov, a father of ten, was given a fine equivalent to about 18 months earnings of an average wage for leading a small unregistered church that meets in his home in Ekibastuz in Pavlodar Region. His property was raided and Christian literature seized, and he was convicted of carrying out banned religious activity. He is the fourth Christian known to have been fined since the new Religion Law came into force. Pray that Christians will stand firm in their faith and show the love of Christ to those who persecute them. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sat, May 2012 00:00