Acid attack on pastor highlights growing religious intolerance in Uganda

From Twitter

• #Christians threatened while trying to save graveyard, Pakistan “Minorities are marginalised in our society & need help http://t.co/eJR5PnL7 4 hours ago

• "2012 could become the year the revolutions soured", as minorities in Arab Spring countries face increased attack http://t.co/Euj77Ek8 4 hours ago

• Western leaders praise Indonesia as a modern Muslim democracy yet religious minorities' rights "routinely trampled" http://t.co/ZIU6tlnB Thu, May 2012 16:59

• Authorities close #Christian worship places after Islamist protests "a dark time in the history of religious freedom" http://t.co/hafeMZWH Wed, May 2012 16:41

• Today's Egyptian presidential elections "marked by fear and disappointment" amid Islamist domination. http://t.co/TVknHeYa Wed, May 2012 16:32

Daily prayer

• The Iranian authorities are rounding up Christians across the country in a wave of arrests. Both leaders and ordinary church members are being targeted. In one particularly distressing incident on 22 February, a 78-yearold woman, Giti Hakimpour, was arrested in a raid on her home and held for three days; some of her belongings were also confiscated. She was not in good health, and her doctor had said she should not be subjected to stress. In some raids entire congregations have been detained, and Christians have been seized from their homes and workplaces. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Iran as they seek to worship and serve the Lord in the midst of such insecurity and harassment. Pray that the government will relieve the relentless pressure upon them. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 21 hours ago

• Fatimeh Nouri, a Christian convert from Islam in Iran, was convicted in late 2011 of “attending a house church, insulting sacred figures and activities against national security”. Fatimeh is an art student at a university in Tehran, and the Revolutionary Court sentenced her to one year’s “deprivation of education”. This is the first time that such a penalty has been imposed on a Christian convert; it is against international law to deprive anyone of education on religious grounds. Pray for Fatimeh, that she will soon be free to continue her studies and will persevere in her Christian faith. Give thanks too for the spread of the Gospel among university students in Iran, and pray that new Christians will not be discouraged by this case. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2012 00:00

• 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 Wed, May 2012 00:00

• 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