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Egyptian parliament to approve new law on status of Christians
A long-awaited law on the personal legal status of Christians in Egypt is expected to be approved soon by the Egyptian Parliament. According to a member of the parliamentary legislative committee, the draft law should be discussed shortly after Parliament opens its new session on 23 January.
The drafting of the new legislation, which includes provisions on sensitive issues relating to family law, has been a long process that started in 2014 and in which all Egyptian Churches have been involved.
A long process
The Ministry of Justice ended the drafting process in June 2021 after 16 sessions, during which it consulted legal experts, government officials and Church representatives to reach consensus on the wording of the text.
Discussions have focused in particular on delicate matters like divorce and legal separation of spouses, to which Christian Churches have different ecclesial approaches. Christian leaders had delivered their joint proposed text to the Egyptian authorities on 15 October 2020.
Cooperation with Churches
The cooperation with Christian leaders in drafting the law confirms the good existing relations between the local Churches and the present Egyptian government led by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
Since he took power in 2014, the Egyptian president has made a number of friendly gestures towards the local Christian Churces, especially the Orthodox Coptic Church, the largest Christian community in the country.
Al-Sisi is the first Egyptian President to have attended Orthodox Coptic Christmas liturgies. on more than one occasion, he has defined the Coptic community as an essential part of the Egyptian identity.
In 2015 he reacted strongly to the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians held by the Islamic State in Libya, and in July 2016 announced he would increase penalties against those fomenting religious violence.
On 30 August that year, the Egyptian Parliament approved a new law designed to make it easier to build new churches in Egypt, which for years has been a major reason of tension with the Muslim majority especially in the south. However, improved relations have not stopped Islamist attacks against Christians in Egypt.
Christians count for some 10% of the country’s 87 million population.
http://theendtimeradio.com
world news
Chinese Bible Distributor Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
China — In April 2021, Chinese authorities arrested 10 Christians for selling and distributing Bibles in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia — an autonomous region in northern China. Just last month, a judge sentenced one of these believers to prison.
Ban Yanhong was sentenced on April 15, 2024, to five years in prison for “illegal business operations,” or illegally selling and distributing Bibles to Christians in Inner Mongolia.
Ban Yanhong’s husband, Ji Heying, claimed that authorities charged his wife because they considered her to be a key figure in the group. Five of the original 10 Christians have been released on bail but could still face prosecution for their role in the Bible distributions. The other four Christians are awaiting their trial.
Originally, the 10 Hohhot Christians purchased the Bibles legally from a church in Nanjing associated with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). TSPM churches are the only legal churches in China and are controlled by the Communist government.
In Ban’s case, prosecutors argued that even though the Bibles were initially purchased legally in Nanjing, selling and distributing them in Inner Mongolia by unregistered house church members was illegal.
Sources:persecution
world news
ആദ്യമായി ഇസ്രായേൽ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത
ഹൈഫ: ചരിത്രത്തില് ആദ്യമായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത, ഇസ്രായേലിലെ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ടു. പ്രൊഫസർ മൗന മറൂണാണ് ഹൈഫ സർവകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നത്. ഹൈഫ സർവ്വകലാശാലയിൽ ഇതിന് മുന്പ് മറ്റൊരു അറബ് വംശജരായ, ക്രിസ്ത്യാനിയോ സ്ത്രീയോ റെക്ടർ സ്ഥാനം വഹിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. ഇസ്രായേലിലെ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ സമ്പ്രദായത്തിൽ റെക്ടറാണ് സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ തലവന്. ഇസ്രായേൽ അക്കാദമിയിൽ എല്ലാം സാധ്യമാണ് എന്നതിൻ്റെ പ്രധാന സന്ദേശമാണ് തന്നെ തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തിരിക്കുന്നതിലൂടെ വ്യക്തമായിരിക്കുന്നതെന്ന് മൗന പറഞ്ഞു.
മറൂൺ ജനിച്ച ഇസ്ഫിയ എന്ന ഗ്രാമത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഏകദേശം ആറ് മൈൽ അകലെ കാർമൽ പർവതത്തിലാണ് ഹൈഫ സർവ്വകലാശാല സ്ഥിതി ചെയ്യുന്നത്. 20-ാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിൻ്റെ തുടക്കത്തിൽ ലെബനോനിൽ നിന്ന് ഇവിടെയെത്തിയവരാണ് മറൂണിന്റെ കുടുംബം. അക്കാലത്ത് സ്കൂളുകൾ ഇല്ലായിരുന്നു. ഉന്നത വിദ്യാഭ്യാസത്തിലൂടെ മാത്രമേ തങ്ങളുടെ നാല് പെൺമക്കളെ ഇസ്രായേലി സമൂഹത്തിൽ സമന്വയിപ്പിക്കാൻ കഴിയൂവെന്ന് അവർ വിശ്വസിച്ചിരുന്നു. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ് പഠനം തുടരാൻ അവർ എന്നെ പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിച്ചതെന്ന് മൗന വെളിപ്പെടുത്തി. ഇസ്രായേലിലെ ഏറ്റവും വൈവിധ്യമാർന്നതും ഉൾക്കൊള്ളുന്നതുമായ സർവ്വകലാശാലകളിലൊന്നാണ് ഹൈഫ സർവകലാശാല. 17,000 വിദ്യാർത്ഥികളിൽ 45% അറബ് സമൂഹത്തിൽ നിന്നുള്ളവരാണ്.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം
world news
‘We’re Going to Light Up This World’: National Day of Prayer to Lift God’s Word to Combat Darkness
This year’s theme for the 73rd National Day of Prayer is “Lift up the Word – Light Up the World” from the Biblical passage in 2 Samuel chapter 22. It reads in part: “O Lord, You are my lamp. The Lord Lights up My Darkness.” It is a message that organizers say is needed now more than ever.
“It seemed all we were talking about was darkness,” Kathy Branzell, President of the National Day of Prayer Task Force told CBN’s Faith Nation. “‘Oh, America’s getting darker, our schools are getting darker, my neighborhood’s getting darker.'”
Branzell explained, “While that might feel true, the truth is darkness is the absence of light. This year by lifting up the Word, we know His Word in prayer won’t return void and we’re going to light up this world.”
The annual National Day of Prayer, which was established by Congress in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, is a call for Americans to humble themselves before Almighty God, to seek His guidance, wisdom, and blessing.
Branzell said events like the unrest and anti-semitic protests on college campuses should guide how Christians pray.
“We are praying God’s presence on those campuses. We are praying for the Holy Spirit to come in and for hatred to be diminished and for love to come in and to take over,” she said.
The hope is that the light already breaking through at some schools will spread to others.
Author and speaker Jennie Allen who has witnessed repentance, revival, and mass baptisms on several college campuses said many students are ready to hear the message of salvation.
“Gen Z is different,” Allen said in an interview on CBN News’ The PrayerLink. “They are open to God, and they want to confess their sin. They’re sick of the world and they want something different. Not all of them, but a lot of them.”
“And I think what the older Church needs to hear and believe is that it’s possible,” added Allen. “God is doing it again. He is awakening His people. And so, to pray and to pull those kids into your life and your home and disciple them because they’re hungry.”
In a nation divided by politics, race, and hot-button social issues, organizers realize that only a unified Church can pray with power. That is why the National Day of Prayer is partnering with the National Unity Weekend movement which brings churches together every June to teach on unity and serve their communities.
Bishop Derek Grier of Grace Church in Dumfries, Virginia is the founder of the group.
“If there was ever a time our nation needed unity it’s right now—particularly before we go into this election season,” Grier told CBN News. “And as the Church unites around the things that we have in common, the things that we disagree over become minor. And with that, people in our various communities can run into the church as a place of refuge.”
A refuge of light that outshines the darkness.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
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