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Egypt legalizes 156 Christian church buildings; about 3,000 more awaiting approval

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The Egyptian government legalized 156 more Christian churches and church-affiliated buildings last Tuesday as it continues to slowly make its way through thousands of applications from churches seeking legal recognition.

The 156 new church buildings approved by the federal government last week bring the total number of church buildings that have received legal status to 783 since the passing of a 2016 law regulating church construction.

The buildings were approved by a special government committee headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad told Egypt Today.

Although 783 churches have received legal status since the passing since 2016, over 3,700 church buildings are waiting for approval in the Muslim-majority nation.

The 2016 law is the nation’s first law ever providing specific rules for the construction of Christian churches. At the time, some believed the law would make it easier for Christians to renovate churches while critics feared it could give too much power to local governments to deny church construction.

According to International Christian Concern, a U.S.-based nonprofit that monitors the persecution of Christians across the globe, the churches that have thus far received approval by the Egyptian government are ones that operated illegally prior to 2016 in buildings that have already been constructed.

ICC is concerned about reports suggesting that government approval of projects to build entirely new church buildings have “slowed considerably.”

Last April, Egypt’s former Prime Minister Sherif Ismail called for the church legalization process to be sped up. His call came as only 219 church buildings had been approved at that point.

Last October, it was reported that only 340 out of 3,730 applications had been approved. This meant that nearly 3,400 church buildings were still left waiting for approval two years after the church construction regulation was passed.

“Some Christians see the legalization of 783 churches as an improvement. Others, however, point to a contradictory narrative, the government will not approve new churches, but will build the largest church in the Middle East in a location where no Christians live.”

Last December, the government committee approved 168 other churches and church buildings.
“In Egyptian society, Islamic culture fuels discrimination and creates an environment causing the state to be reluctant to respect and enforce the fundamental rights of Christians,” .“Though President [Abdel Fattah] el-Sisi has publicly expressed his commitment to protecting Christians, his government’s actions and extremist groups’ continued Christian persecution attacks on individuals and churches, leaving Christians feeling insecure and extremely cautious.”

Christians in Egypt have faced severe persecution at the hands of Muslim extremists affiliated with the Islamic State that have led to several killings over the last several years.

At least seven were killed and 20 others were injured when suspected Islamic State militants attacked buses leaving a desert Monastery near Minya last November.

That attack mirrored a similar attack that occurred in 2017 on a bus near the same monastery.

Twenty-nine people were killed in the 2017 attack, which was also claimed by the Islamic State’s affiliate group in Sinai. That group has also claimed responsibility for deadly church bombings that occurred in December 2016 and January 2017 as well as other attacks against Christians in Egypt.

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Chinese Bible Distributor Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

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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

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ആദ്യമായി ഇസ്രായേൽ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത

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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

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‘We’re Going to Light Up This World’: National Day of Prayer to Lift God’s Word to Combat Darkness

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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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ആദ്യമായി ഇസ്രായേൽ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത

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