Many Muslim Background Believers are forced to live their Christian lives in secret. Continuing to wear clothing sanctioned by Islam, these Christian women risk their lives to worship Jesus Christ.
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – I pray today for divided families… divided between believers and unbelievers. And I pray particularly for Muslim Background Believers. Strengthen them… give them the courage and grace to endure rejection and abuse for their faith. Protect them and guard them from the schemes and snares of the Evil One. Hear their prayers when they cry out to you in their anguish. And do not let them be put to shame for their belief and trust in you. To God be the glory. Amen.
As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?”
“Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised. “Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”
“No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.” The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.
Paul Addresses the Crowd After His Arrest by Gustave Doré
“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.
Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the Christians from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.
“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.
“And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.
“I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
“And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’
“I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!
“Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
“After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’
“‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’
“But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”
The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Sometimes the Good News of what you have done for us… is received as bad news by our listeners. It’s no less true… but it can fall hard on the ears of unbelievers. Give us the courage and grace to speak the truth nevertheless. Particularly the Good News of what you have done for us… and the changes you have wrought in us. May we never flinch or turn to the right or left in our testimony… but may we deliver it kindly, lovingly… to the end that all might come to know you as their Savior and Lord. To God be the glory. Amen.
So Paul went to the Temple [in Jerusalem] the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple — and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.” (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)
Paul bound with chains
The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him. As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.
Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done. Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress. As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him. And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”
Prayer:Heavenly Father – Counting the cost… paying the price for Christian witness… and running afoul of our cultures and communities… it’s not for the faint of heart. Holy Spirit – Make us people who are “fit for the Kingdom”… people who don’t look back but press on, even in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. Lord Jesus – Give us the courage and equanimity to take up the particular crosses you have given us… and follow you daily. May you be glorified in us and through us. Amen.
Population: 36.5 million (25,000 Christians) Main Religion: Islam Government: Republic Source of Persecution: Islamic extremism
Algeria is increasingly the scene of terror attacks as a result of growing Islamism in the region. The government is pressurised by al-Qaeda in the Maghreb to implement more Islamic legislation, to the detriment of the country’s Christians, most of whom are from a Muslim background. The young Algerian church faces discrimination from family and the state. Islamist groups, encouraged by the Arab Spring, are becoming more visible and monitor Christian activity. In 2012, threats against churches and Christians increased.
Protestant Berber men pray during a mass at a church in the Berber capital of Tizi Ouzou, 60 miles east of Algeria’s capital Algiers, in 2010 (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra )
PLEASE PRAY:
The government has not registered any new churches since 2008. Pray for house churches who continue to meet, some openly and some in secret
A religious law introduced in 2006 particularly restricts Christians. Pray that this restrictive law will be abolished
For Christian women. Imprisonment of women and pressure from religious leaders to divorce Christians is common.
Algerian Protestants want their churches back
PERSECUTION DYNAMICS: Major protests in 2011 against Algeria’s authoritarian regime, in which five people died and over 800 were injured, did not bring about a regime change. The military government is still largely in place.
The oppression of Christians has been constant and systemic throughout all spheres of life. Newly issued legislation such as Ordinance 06-03 particularly restricts Christians. Imprisonment of women and pressure from village elders and imams to divorce Christians is common. Persecution is increasing: in 2012, the church in Ouargla was attacked and a Christian lady kidnapped and threatened. The government has not registered any new churches since February 2008 so ‘house churches’ continue to meet, some openly and some in secret. The Algerian Protestant Church (EPA) finally obtained registration in 2011, but no real freedom resulted. The future of the church will depend a great deal on the political situation.
Algerian believer faces loss of inheritance
MORE BACKGROUND: Persecution in Algeria takes many forms: verbal and physical abuse, denigration and slander in the media from Islamist parties, forced divorce, and most recently, the loss of family inheritance under a law inspired by the Islamic Sharia. This is the case for Algerian believer named Mecheri Benslama (Open Doors USA).
Mecheri Benslama is a 55 year old Christian from Laghouat, a town in the north of Algeria. He risks losing the share of his inheritance because of his faith. In January, his Muslim brother brought a court case against him, using the Algerian family law. His brother aimed to deprive Mecheri from all family heritages. The law he used to do that is a law that was adopted in 1984. Article 138 of this law stipulates that an apostate (someone who leaves Islam) cannot inherit from a Muslim. On top of this case, his brother filed another complaint accusing Mecheri of offending the prophet of Islam and the Quran and wanting to convert members of the family, taking advantage of the absence of the Muslim brother filing the complaint.
Mecheri is part of a church that has around hundred members. His pastor Mahmoud is spiritually supporting Mecheri in this difficult time. Mahmoud tells us this isn’t the first time Mecheri received accusations: “previously he was summoned by the police on complaints of apostasy: they asked him to confess Mohammed and Allah, but he refused, telling them that he was a Christian.”
For Mahmoud, this case is yet another injustice committed against Christians in Algeria: “It is an injustice to disinherit someone because he does not share the same religious beliefs. The situation is due to lead to a family tragedy “says the pastor.
The Peanut Gallery 