Pakistan’s Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti Murdered

The No. 1 person on the Taliban’s Pakistan hit list, Shahbaz Bhatti, the federal minister of minorities affairs, was gunned down Wednesday around 11 a.m. (local time).

 

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination of the long-time minorities activist.

Bhatti, 42, was leaving his home in the morning when an unknown gunman bombarded his vehicle with bullets in broad daylight. He was dead when he arrived at Shifa Hospital in Islamabad. Bhatti is usually accompanied by security guards, but he had told them Wednesday not to travel with him.

“Assassination of Bhatti is a message to all of those who are against Pakistan’s blasphemy laws,” said Ihsanullah Ihsan, a Taliban spokesman, according to CNN.

Bhatti angered extremists by demanding a review of the controversial blasphemy law in light of the case of Asia Bibi – the first woman to be sentenced to death under the blasphemy law.

Just last month, The Christian Post met up with Bhatti in Washington, D.C., for an interview during which he shared that he was receiving death threats for speaking against Pakistan’s blasphemy law. Bhatti had said that he was the No. 1 target of the Taliban after former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, an opponent of the blasphemy law, was murdered. Taseer, who is a liberal-minded Muslim, had been the Taliban’s No. 1 target until he was assassinated by his own bodyguard on Jan. 4.

“I want to make it clear that I am mindful that in the struggle to protect the religious freedom, the rights of minorities, and to raise the voice against the blasphemy law, I can be assassinated. I can be killed,” Bhatti had told CP in the February interview.

“But I will continue to follow the principles that I believe. I will continue to raise the voice of the voiceless. And I will not feel fear because of these threats because I follow Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us. So as a follower of Christ, my destiny is to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.”

Pakistan’s blasphemy law has come under intense criticism for the ease of which Muslims can abuse it to persecute Christians and other minorities. Accusation is nearly all that is needed for someone to be charged with blasphemy, which is punished by fines, imprisonment, or even death. Even without proper evidence, as in the case of Bibi, someone can be accused of blasphemy and end up on death row.

Bhatti’s death comes just two months after the murder of his friend and colleague Salman Taseer, who was one of the most vocal advocates for the release of Bibi, a Christian mother of five who was accused of blasphemy against the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Although she has denied speaking ill of the Muslim prophet, she was beaten and has been imprisoned since June 2009. Bibi is still in prison and waiting for a court hearing date for her appeal.

Christians make up only about 1.5 percent of Pakistan’s 185 million population.

In response to Bhatti’s murder, President Asif Ali Zardari’s aide, Farahnaz Ispahani, said, “This is a concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan,” according to The Associated Press.

“The time has come for the federal government and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan.”

Bhatti was the first Christian to be a member of the Pakistani President’s Cabinet

Kamal Saleem: A Muslim Cries Out to Jesus – CBN.com

Keeping Informed as We Pray for Egypt and the Situation There

The protests began on Tuesday, 25 January, when thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square after an internet campaign—inspired by the uprising in Tunisia—called for a “day of revolt.”

Since a majority of our BCN readers are quite far removed from what is currently happening in Egypt, it may be somewhat difficult to understand why these protests are happening.

It’s a situation that should be covered in prayer, but it’s always better to “pray informed,” so we have linked to a very helpful article in the BBC News that explains what is happening in Egypt; why they are protesting, and what are some of the repercussions for those in other parts of the world. (Photo: Getty/BBC)

Something this article does not address, but is still important for Christians to be praying about, is the plight of the Coptic Christians in Egypt, and how they will be affected by this revolution.

An excerpt is included below; the entire article can be read at the source link provided.

Egyptians in their thousands have taken to the streets to protest against the authoritarian regime of President Hosni Mubarak, in the most serious challenge to his 30-year rule. Here is a look at what is happening in Egypt and why it matters for the rest of the world.

Who are the protesters and what do they want?
The protests began on Tuesday, 25 January, when thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square after an internet campaign—inspired by the uprising in Tunisia—called for a “day of revolt”. The police responded with tear gas and water cannons, but the protesters stood their ground. Since then, they have staged mass street protests on a daily basis in many major cities—including Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailiya—in defiance of government-imposed curfews. The protests have been largely peaceful, but more than 100 people are reported to have been killed in clashes with police.

Protesters want President Hosni Mubarak, 82, to step down after 30 years in power. They say they are fed up after decades of poverty, repression, rigged elections, corruption, high unemployment and rampant abuse by police. They also want guarantees that—contrary to widespread speculation—President Mubarak’s son, Gamal, will not succeed him.

Source: BBC Staff – BBC News

Droves of Egyptian Muslims Volunteer as Human Shields to Protect Christians at Church

(Cairo, Egypt)—Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night (Jan.6), offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community.

Yasmine El-Rashidi, writing online ahram.org.eg says that amidst clashes and threats, Copts feel marginalized in the Egyptian elections. El-Rashidi says that from the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last Thursday night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

She states that: “We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural center distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.

The online article says that among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular Muslim televangelist and preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.

The ultrasound that changed my life – Abby Johnson’s pro-life conversion in her own words

Former Planned Parenthood director, and now pro-life activist Abby Johnson.

Note: The following is the first chapter of Abby Johnson’s forthcoming book. To find out more about the book, which will be released January 11, click here.

January 10, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – CHERYL POKED HER HEAD INTO MY OFFICE. “Abby, they need an extra person back in the exam room. Are you free?”

I looked up from my paperwork, surprised. “Sure.”

Though I’d been with Planned Parenthood for eight years, I had never been called into the exam room to help the medical team during an abortion, and I had no idea why I was needed now. Nurse-practitioners were the ones who assisted in abortions, not the other clinic staff. As director of this clinic in Bryan, Texas, I was able to fill in for any position in a pinch, except, of course, for doctors or nurses performing medical procedures. I had, on a few occasions, agreed at a patient’s request to stay with her and even hold her hand during the procedure, but only when I’d been the counselor who’d worked with her during intake and counseling. That was not the case today. So why did they need me?

Today’s visiting abortionist had been here at the Bryan clinic only two or three times before. He had a private abortion practice about 100 miles away. When I’d talked with him about the job several weeks before, he had explained that at his own facility he did only ultrasound-guided abortions — the abortion procedure with the least risk of complications for the woman. Because this method allows the doctor to see exactly what is going on inside the uterus, there is less chance of perforating the uterine wall, one of the risks of abortion. I respected that about him. The more that could be done to keep women safe and healthy, the better, as far as I was concerned. However, I’d explained to him that this practice wasn’t the protocol at our clinic. He understood and said he’d follow our typical procedures, though we agreed he’d be free to use ultrasound if he felt a particular situation warranted it.

To my knowledge, we’d never done ultrasound-guided abortions at our facility. We did abortions only every other Saturday, and the assigned goal from our Planned Parenthood affiliate was to perform 25 to 35 procedures on those days. We liked to wrap them up by around 2 p.m. Our typical procedure took about 10 minutes, but an ultrasound added about five minutes, and when you’re trying to schedule up to 35 abortions in a day, those extra minutes add up.

I felt a moment’s reluctance outside the exam room. I never liked entering this room during an abortion procedure — never welcomed what happened behind this door. But since we all had to be ready at any time to pitch in and get the job done, I pushed the door open and stepped in.

Chilean Miners Give Witness to God

Each miner emerged from the rescue capsule wearing a shirt that said “Thank you Lord” on the front. On the back of their shirts were the words, “To Him be the glory and honor,” from Psalm 95:4, and on one sleeve was the name “Jesus.”

(Chile)—CBN News reports that the majority of the miners rescued from a Chilean mine have given evidence of deep spirituality and faith in God. They have all agreed, the report notes, that it was their faith that kept them safe and sound during those 69 days in the depths of the earth.

According to the report each miner emerged from the rescue capsule wearing a shirt that said “Thank you Lord” on the front. On the back of their shirts were the words, “To Him be the glory and honor,” from Psalm 95:4, and on one sleeve was the name “Jesus.” (Photo: BBC News)

Mario Sepúlveda, the second worker who came out of the capsule, said: “God and the devil were fighting over me and God won. I always knew they would get me out. I always had faith in the professionals here in Chile and in the Great Creator.”

The fourth miner to surface, Carlos Mamani, knelt down as soon as he came out of the capsule and pointed to Heaven, giving thanks to God, as did Omar Reygadas, who also held a Bible in his hands and wore a helmet with the phrase “God Lives” written on it.

Another report notes that while still trapped in the mine, 19-year-old Jimmy Sanchez had written a letter that was sent up to the surface saying, “There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here.”

Source: Staff – CBN

Lecrae Far Away-Haiti Song

Nicaragua again rejects foreign pressure to legalize abortion

Nicaragua, one of the few countries in the world to maintain a total ban on abortion, has again rejected pressure by foreign powers to liberalize its pro-life legislation, reports Patrick B. Craine, LifeSiteNews.com.

A report from proceedings at the UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva reveals that 11 countries called for Nicarague to legalize abortion. Delegate Carlos Robelo, however, flatly refused to bow under pressure.

Instead, reports Pat Buckley, the UN consultant for the UK-based Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), Robelo told the HRC that Nicaragua would not reverse its pro-life legislation to allow “therapeutic abortions” and maintained that the law as it stands expresses the will of the country’s people.

The proceedings were part of the HRC’s Universal Periodic Review. Under that review each of the 192 UN member states is assessed every 4 years on how they live up to their commitments under international treaties and conventions.

Nicaragua’s review was finalized on June 9th. The report, issued in March, records that the following countries called for Nicarague to legalize abortion: the Netherlands, Norway, Czech Republic, Mexico, UK, Belgium, France, Finland, Sweden, Germany, and Slovenia.

Emergency S.O.S.: America Falling to Foreign Bank Takeover

You’re No One Special

Carl Sagan, perhaps the best-known scientific celebrity of the past couple of decades. A renowned astronomer and media figure, Sagan was overtly antagonistic to biblical theism. But he became the chief televangelist for the religion of naturalism. He preached a world-view that was based entirely on naturalistic assumptions. Underlying all he taught was the firm conviction that everything in the universe has a natural cause and a natural explanation. That belief—a matter of faith, not a truly scientific observation—governed and shaped every one of his theories about the universe.

Sagan’s religion included the belief that the human race is nothing special. Given the incomprehensible vastness of the universe and the impersonality of it all, how could humanity possibly be important? Sagan concluded that our race is not significant at all. In December 1996, less than three weeks before Sagan died, he was interviewed by Ted Koppel on “Nightline.” Sagan knew he was dying, and Koppel asked him, “Dr. Sagan, do you have any pearls of wisdom that you would like to give to the human race?”

Sagan replied,

We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy, which is one of billions of other galaxies, which make up a universe, which may be one of a very large number—perhaps an infinite number—of other universes. That is a perspective on human life and our culture that is well worth pondering. (ABC News Nightline, December 4, 1996)

In a book published posthumously, Sagan wrote, “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves” (Pale Blue Dot, New York: Random House, 1994, p. 9).