attacked

Pray For Pakistan

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Innocent Christians Attacked Celebrating Easter in Lahore, Pakistan

Innocent Christians celebrating Easter in a park in Lahore, Pakistan were attacked by the Taliban on Easter Sunday. The gruesome bombing killed 76 people and injured 300 others.

One Free World International calls on the Pakistani government to bring the perpetrators and their accomplices to justice, do more to combat terrorism, and protect the rights and liberties of religious minorities in Pakistan.

Speaking about this gruesome terrorist attack, Rev. El Shafie joined CTV News Channel to discuss the attack and calls for action.

OFWI calls for murder of Yazidi sex slaves to be investigated

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OFWI sources report of Yazidi massacre in Iraq

Iraq Rubble

During the early-January offensive to drive ISIS out of Anbar province and reclaim the territory under Iraqi sovereignty, whistleblowers have reported Shia militias indiscriminately killed Yazidis and Sunni civilians who remained behind after ISIS forces had fled. One such report included the killing of 55 Yazidi girls in one compound who were being used by ISIS as sex slaves. Based on our sources it is estimated that hundreds were killed in this manner.

One Free World International and Yezidi Human Rights Organization International have written to Iraq's Ambassador in Canada calling for an investigation, demanding those accountable be brought to justice, and taking the necessary steps to prevent further atrocities from being repeated as the Iraqi armed forces continue their campaign with international partners to defeat ISIS.

TAKE ACTION: Write the Iraqi Ambassador to Canada echoing our demands: info@iqemb.ca

Read: OFWI Letter: 2016-02-08 Letter to Iraqi Ambassador

Tor Star Feb 17

Pakistani Christians Fear for Safety

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Dear Friends and Partners, A Christian neighbourhood in Lahore, Pakistan was attacked on Saturday, March 9, 2013 after rumours spread that a local Christian had made derogatory remarks about the Muslim prophet Mohammed. Christian homes were looted in the Joseph Colony neighbourhood of Lahore and some 160 homes and a church were burnt, many completely destroyed, by a mob of over 3000 local and area Muslim extremists. The individual accused of blasphemy was in police custody while many local Christians fled to safer areas and many lost everything.

John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Minister, has issued a statement condemning these attacks as well as calling on the Pakistani government to prosecute those responsible and to “implement safeguards to ensure that their blasphemy laws are no longer abused”. While we are grateful for Minister Baird’s statement and support for the Christians and other minorities in Pakistan, this is simply not enough. The Blasphemy Laws must be repealed urgently.

Sections 295 B-C of the Pakistani Penal Code (along with sections 298 A-C that specifically target Ahmadis) are so broad and vague that almost any comment or gesture can be interpreted as a violation at a complainant’s whim and fancy. The provisions mandate life imprisonment for defiling, damaging, or desecrating a copy of the Koran or an extract from it and life imprisonment or death for derogatory remarks, direct or indirect, against the Islamic prophet Mohammed.

The Blasphemy Laws are primarily used to pursue personal scores and vendettas and to terrorize minorities, and their very existence undermines any effective freedom of religion in Pakistan. Several years ago provisions were implemented requiring authorities to file a so-called First Information Report before they could lay charges. This requirement was specifically intended to safeguard against “abuses”. However, the very existence of these laws provides Muslim extremists with justification for taking matters into their own hands and mere accusations lead to mob attacks against those accused and their families as well as entire communities even before the authorities are brought into the picture, thus circumventing any supposed “safeguards”.

There is no excuse for keeping these laws on the books and the Pakistani government must take stronger action to protect its minorities. Please join us in speaking out on behalf of our Pakistani brothers and sisters who deserve better from their fellow citizens and from their government.

 

Please pray:

• for the Christians of Joseph Colony that they would be comforted and encouraged at this time of fear and loss and that they would have the strength and faith to show the love of Christ to their attackers and persecutors even in the midst of such hatred;

• for the Pakistani people, that they would learn to live in peace and harmony and accept each other’s difference and particularly for the Muslim extremists, that they would see the injustice and wrongfulness of their actions and turn from hatred and destruction to seeking peace and goodwill for their non-Muslim neighbours; and,

• for the Pakistani authorities that they would take the safety of their minorities seriously and repeal these laws that breed nothing but hatred and injustice.

ACTION:

The Bible teaches that faith without action is dead, so please take action urgently and write (contact details are included below):

• to the Pakistani representative to your country, demanding that Pakistani authorities prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the destruction of Christian property in these attacks and repeal the Blasphemy Laws without delay; and,

• to Minister Baird or Secretary of State John Kerry, thanking Minister Baird for his comments and urging both leaders to demand that the Pakistani government ensure the protection of Pakistani minorities and repeal the Blasphemy Laws without delay.

Please remember to send us a copy of your correspondence at:

info@onefreeworldinternational.org

Remember that the persecuted Christians are dying every day, but they are still smiling.  They are in a very deep dark night, but they have the candle of the Lord. The enemy can have a very strong weapon and a very strong army, but we have the Lord Almighty.

"They can kill the dreamer, but they cannot kill the dream" in the Lord’s name.

Be with God and may God be with you.

Rev. Majed El Shafie President and Founder One Free World International El Shafie Ministries

CONTACT:

In Canada: His Excellency Mian Gul Akbar Zeb, High Commissioner High Commission of Pakistan 10 Range Road Ottawa, ON   K1N 8J3 Tel: (613) 238-7881; Fax: (613) 238-7296 Email: parepottawa@rogers.com

The Honourable John Baird Minister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Canada 125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, ON   K1A 0G2 Tel.: (613) 996-0984; Fax: (613) 996-9880 Email: john.baird@parl.gc.ca

In the United States: Her Excellency Sherry Rehman, Ambassador Embassy of Pakistan 3517 International Court NW Washington, DC  20008 Tel.: (202) 243-6500; Fax: (202) 686-1534 Email: ambassador@embassyofpakistanusa.org or info@embassyofpakistanusa.org

Secretary John Kerry U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC  20520 Tel.: (202) 647-4000 (Main switchboard) http://contact-us.state.gov/app/ask

Christians attacked during Christmas season celebrations

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Christians attacked during Christmas season celebrations
(Warning: graphic images, discretion advised)
Dear Friends and Partners,
As we in the West rejoice and celebrate the birth of Christ in peace and plenty, attending Christmas services and feasting with friends and family, our brothers and sisters around the world are under attack as they try to share in the celebrations.

On New Year’s Eve at least 21 were killed and more than 70 injured in Egypt when a bomb exploded outside the al-Qiddissin Coptic church in Alexandria where approximately 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate a New Year’s mass. The mass was coming to a close and worshippers were beginning to leave the church when the bomb, which appears to have been loaded with shrapnel for maximum carnage, exploded. Security was entirely inadequate and our sources indicate that in the aftermath of the attack there have been further attacks against victims in hospital and that authorities have attacked Coptic demonstrators.

Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak has condemned the attack, blaming foreign elements and characterizing it as an attack against all of Egypt. While his condemnation is welcome, his statement is a transparent attempt to avoid the responsibility of Egyptian authorities. We must not forget that such attacks are not uncommon in Egypt where Muslim extremism has deep roots and is gaining in strength. Only last January a similar, though less sophisticated, attack took place against worshippers leaving a Coptic Christmas Eve celebration. Moreover, it has been well-known that Al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups have made threats against Egyptian churches in the weeks leading up to the Christmas season. With this history of attacks and open threats, the origin of the attackers is of little importance and what matters is the dismal failure of Egyptian authorities to prevent the attack.
International leaders including the pope, U.S. President Barack Obama, and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon have condemned the attack. President Obama called it a “barbaric and heinous act” that was “clearly targeting Christian worshippers”. Minister Cannon called it a “vicious attack” and called on “Egyptians of all faiths to work together to end sectarian violence”. While we appreciate Minister Cannon’s concern, treating the situation as “sectarian violence” reveals a serious lack of understanding of the issues which can only prevent any meaningful resolution. Clearly this despicable event is another example of an intentional campaign by Muslim extremists and their sympathizers to attack Christians and other minority communities. Unless the Canadian and other governments recognize these attacks for what they are and respond appropriately, the extremists will be able to freely continue their murderous attacks on defenseless minorities while the Egyptian government turns a blind eye and makes hollow statements for appearances.
Aside from Egypt, violence has also overtaken Christians in Nigeria this Christmas season where dozens were killed in several attacks by Muslim extremists on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. These attacks included the Christmas Eve killing of a Baptist pastor in his home and some members of the congregation who were in an adjoining church that was set on fire, as well as several bomb attacks, including one in the nation’s capital on New Year’s Eve.
In the midst of these attacks, Coptic Orthodox Christians will be celebrating Christmas on January 7. There is great concern that more attacks will take place in Egypt in the coming week. We must not sit back, comfortably enjoying the warm afterglow of our own Christmas celebrations while leaving our brothers and sisters to fend for themselves. We must stand up for our Egyptian brothers and sisters and for their right to live and worship freely in peace and security. In the midst of this Christmas season we have no excuse.

 

Please pray:

• For courage and comfort for those who have lost loved ones and for the injured and their families in both Egypt and Nigeria; pray that they would be strengthened in their faith and reliance on God through these events; • that the attackers would appreciate the wrongfulness of their acts and be compelled to seek truth and forgiveness; pray that they would experience the love and forgiveness of God and in turn apply their energies toward spreading peace;

• For the Egyptian and Nigerian authorities, that they would take these threats seriously and truly appreciate how important it is for the well-being of their respective countries as a whole that they respect and protect the lives, security, and human rights of all their citizens regardless of their religion;

• For the Christian communities in Egypt and Nigeria, that in the midst of these difficult circumstances they would be filled with the love of Christ toward their Muslim neighbours and co-workers so that they would know the meaning of true love, forgiveness, and justice and be able to experience true peace through the Prince of Peace.
 

ACTION: The Bible teaches that faith without action is dead, so please take action urgently and write (contact details are included below):

 

• In Canada, to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister Cannon, thanking them for Minister Cannon’s statement on the attack in Egypt and urging them to pressure the Egyptian government into protecting its Christian citizens; explain that this is not a matter of sectarian violence but another episode in a history of targeted attacks against Egypt’s Christian minority and it must be dealt with as such; encourage them also to take note of and address the attacks in Nigeria; • in the United States, to President Obama and the Secretary of State thanking them for President Obama’s statement on the events in Egypt and Nigeria and encouraging them to follow through and to pressure authorities in those countries to respect and protect the rights and security of their Christian citizens

• To the Egyptian and Nigerian ambassadors in your country, demanding that they bring all those responsible for these attacks to justice and that they protect their Christian citizens from further attacks by respecting and promoting international human rights standards; for the Egyptian government in particular, demand that the authorities provide sufficient resources to protect the Coptic community and prevent further attacks during the time of Coptic Christmas, on January 6 and 7.

Please remember to send us a copy of your correspondence at: info@onefreeworldinternational.org

Remember that the persecuted Christians are dying every day, but they are still smiling.  They are in a very deep dark night, but they have the candle of the Lord. The enemy can have a very strong weapon and a very strong army, but we have the Lord Almighty.

"They can kill the dreamer, but they cannot kill the dream" in the Lord’s name.

Be with God and may God be with you.
Rev. Majed El Shafie President and Founder One Free World International El Shafie Ministries
 

CONTACT:

In Canada: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON   K1A 0A2 Fax: (613) 941-6900 Email: pm@pm.gc.ca

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon Minister for Foreign Affairs 125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, ON   K1A 0G2 Tel.: (613) 992-5516; Fax: (613) 992-6802 Email: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca Egyptian Embassy: His Excellency Wael Aboul-Magd Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt 454 Laurier Avenue East Ottawa, ON   K1N 6R3 Tel.: (613) 234-4931; Fax: (613) 234-4398 Email: egyptemb@sympatico.ca Nigerian High Commission: His Excellency Iyorwuese Hagher High Commissioner for the Federal Republic of Nigeria 295 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON   K2P 1R9 Tel.: (613) 236-0521/3; Fax: (613) 236-0529 Email: chancery@nigeriahcottawa.com

In the United States: President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Tel.: 202-456-1111; Fax: (202) 456-2461 Webform: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Secretary Hillary Clinton U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC  20520 Tel.: (202) 647-4000 (Main switchboard) Webform: http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_sid=F5OZZa6i&p_lva=&p_sp=&p_li

Embassy of Egypt: His Excellency Sameh Shoukry Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt 3521 International Ct. NW Washington DC  20008 Tel.: (202) 895-5400; Fax: (202) 244-4319 Email: embassy@egyptembassy.net

Embassy of Nigeria: His Excellency Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 3519 International Court, NW Washington, DC  20008 Tel: (202) 986-8400; Fax: (202) 362-6541 or (202) 775-1385 Webform: http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/contact.shtml

Highlights of Previous Year

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"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;We are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

2010 Highlights

 Dear Friends and Partners,

We at One Free World International hope that you have had a wonderful, peaceful, and joyful Christmas and would like to take the time to wish you a very happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year! As we look forward to the New Year, we would also like to take the time to reflect on some of the highlights of the year that is coming to a close and thank you for your prayers and support through 2010.

Alerts

Every year and again throughout 2010 your response to our alerts is remarkable. Never forget that your prayers and letters are invaluable in keeping our brothers and sisters around the world on the minds of our policy-makers. They also keep the pressure on foreign governments to change their policies and respect international human rights standards.

The year got off to a joyful start hot off the heels of little Neeha’s rescue as we all Neehashared and rejoiced in the fact that Neeha and her family were finally able to freely celebrate Christmas in peace and without fear. Her story was carried by CTV’s W5 program in March and can be viewed at http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/20100311/w5_saving_neha_100311/. Just after the success of her rescue, highlighted in our 2009 year-end alert, we were appalled to hear of the massacre that occurred in the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt on Coptic Christmas Eve. Six Coptic Christians and one Muslim security guard were killed as Muslim extremists attacked worshippers leaving Christmas Eve services by shooting at the crowd with an automatic rifle from a moving car.

We were able to share some good news as well, when Maryam and Marzieh, two Iranian Christian women imprisoned for their faith were finally released. Some of the other situations we brought to your attention were focused on Pakistan where massive flooding left large parts of the population devastated and vulnerable. Minorities such as Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadiyya Muslims were doubly victimized, however, as they were in some cases refused aid because of their religious beliefs. Several weeks later we also noted the Pakistani case of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother who was sentenced to hang for blasphemy when a dispute erupted with local Muslim women over a cup of water after she refused to convert to Islam. Her appeal is pending and we continue to monitor the situation.

Missions and Other Activities

In one of our most significant undertakings of 2010, OWFI assembled a human rightsAfgan women tortured and abused by husbands delegation including Mario Silva, a Canadian Liberal member of parliament, and returned to Afghanistan on a fact-finding mission from June 25 to 30. While in Afghanistan, Rev. El Shafie and the delegation had the opportunity to meet with victims and hear firsthand their stories of wife abuse, child sexual abuse, and religious persecution. They were also able to confront government and opposition officials about the government’s role in perpetuating abusive laws and OWFIhuman rights violations. Our team also had the opportunity to meet and encourage Canadian soldiers, fulfilling Rev. El Shafie’s earlier promise to the troops that he would return. They presenting the troops with new cards of support, like those we took on our first mission in 2007, which were signed by some 2500 Canadians, including Prime Minister Harper and several Canadian members of parliament as well as many of you.

Rev. El Shafie At the end of November Rev. El Shafie had the opportunity for the third time to testify before the Canadian Parliament’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights (video of his testimony is available here scroll down the page for Meeting 35), this time about what he discovered on his mission to Afghanistan. He focused on the abuse of Afghan women and children and about the government’s murderous campaign against converts to Christianity. In the context of this rare opportunity OFWI hosted a reception, in collaboration with Mario Silva, where we presented our concerns directly to the Canadian people, including members of parliament and senators, human rights advocates, members of different religious and ethnic groups, and concerned members of the public.

Besides Rev. El Shafie and Mario Silva, other speakers at the reception were Justin Trudeau, and Toronto immigration lawyer Chantal Desloges. The keynote speaker was the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister for Citizenship and Immigration. Minister Kenney acknowledged that the Canadian government can and should re-double its efforts to use Canada’s influence to help the women, children, and Christians of Afghanistan and he invited OFWI to continue bringing these issues to the government’s attention both in parliamentary and other public fora.

Special Thanks

 As always, we would like to give special thanks to our OFWI team, those partners and volunteers who work anonymously behind the scenes, sacrificing their time, sleep, effort, finances, and even putting their lives in danger, to ensure that the work moves forward.

Finally, the OFWI family would like to thank all of you for being partners in our work in 2010. Without your active participation, prayers, and support none of this would have been possible. We undertake our work by faith, knowing that it is the call of the Lord and it must be done, making great sacrifices and trusting that He will provide. Our educational events, advocacy, and particularly our fact-finding and rescue missions require tremendous resources and are only possible because of your generous support. Please prayerfully consider making a special year-end donation to OFWI or committing to support our work on a monthly basis in the coming year (OFWI’s address and banking information are included below).

To all of our friends and partners we wish the richest blessings in 2011! As we look forward to the New Year and all the challenges that lie ahead, we trust that you will continue to support our work, both in prayer and financially, and by taking action with us on behalf of our brothers and sisters around the world who continue to suffer injustice, abuse, and persecution because of their beliefs. Together we can work toward a world where everyone can live in peace and freedom, seek truth, and worship according to their conscience and beliefs.

Remember that the persecuted Christians are dying every day, but they are still smiling. They are in a very deep dark night, but they have the candle of the Lord. The enemy can have a very strong weapon and a very strong army, but we have the Lord Almighty.

"They can kill the dreamer, but they cannot kill the dream" in the Lord’s name.

Be with God and may God be with you.

One Free World International El Shafie Ministries