News & analysis

From Twitter

• Sudan & S.Sudan agree 2 peace talks–but attacks continue "Khartoum is bombing civilian targets, killing women/children" http://t.co/ImZPDfxd 17 hours ago

• Kuwait's ruler blocks Islamist parliament's bid to impose sharia law http://t.co/RQOx3Ar7 18 hours ago

• "The funds provided by Barnabas have been a big source of help and a glimpse of hope" for needy Christians in Syria http://t.co/hPehUw4y Thu, May 2012 16:50

• Kuwaiti parliament approves death penalty for blasphemy "we need this legislation - incidents of cursing God have risen http://t.co/ay3seTcP Thu, May 2012 16:07

• Nigerian #Christians undeterred by attacks "we must have faith in God.This is our home.This is where we should worship" http://t.co/CnqS64Hm Wed, May 2012 16:59

Daily prayer

• Unregistered churches in Kazakhstan can face intense harassment from the authorities. On 8 February Aleksei Asetov, a father of ten, was given a fine equivalent to about 18 months earnings of an average wage for leading a small unregistered church that meets in his home in Ekibastuz in Pavlodar Region. His property was raided and Christian literature seized, and he was convicted of carrying out banned religious activity. He is the fourth Christian known to have been fined since the new Religion Law came into force. Pray that Christians will stand firm in their faith and show the love of Christ to those who persecute them. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 10 hours ago

• “The activity of small religious groups in the territory of Kazakhstan is now banned since there is no such form of religious association of citizens.” A senior religious affairs official in Kazakhstan bluntly declared that under the new Religion Law that came into force in October 2011, religious associations with fewer than 50 members must either re-register with more than 50 people or stop their activities. A number of churches from a range of Christian denominations have already been stripped of their registration, and no rules have yet been drawn up to enable them to re-register, even if they have enough members to do so. Pray that this repressive new law will be enforced less strictly and will eventually be repealed. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Fri, May 2012 00:00

• The new president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has promised to make the protection of repressed Christians in foreign countries one of his foreign policy priorities. During the presidential election he met with a group of church leaders in Moscow on 8 February, who told him that Christians were suffering persecution all over the world, with one Christian dying for his or her faith every five minutes. When they asked him to give attention to this problem, he replied, “This is how it will be, have no doubt.” Give thanks for this undertaking, and pray that the president will honour it. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2012 00:00

• Pray for Greater Grace Church in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, which has been closed by the authorities. The State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations moved against the church for its failure to obtain the re-registration required by the harsh Religion Law of 2009. This is thought to be the first attempt to use the new law to force a church to close, and it creates a legal precedent that may threaten other churches. Several congregations that have tried to re-register have recently been informed that their applications have been refused. Pray for an easing of the tight limitations and severe penalties imposed by the law, and for the churches as they seek to serve Christ under great pressure. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2012 00:00

• Give thanks that the charge of religious defamation against Egyptian Christian businessman and liberal political leader Naguib Sawaris has been thrown out of court. Mr Sawaris was charged with “blasphemy and insulting Islam” for an image he tweeted in June 2011 depicting the cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Islamic guise, with a long beard and face veil respectively. Both lawsuits filed against him were rejected, one on 28 February, the other on 3 March. The tweet sparked a Muslim backlash against Mr Sawaris, with groups calling for a boycott of his companies. Pray that this will not happen and that freedom of speech will be upheld in the new Egyptian order. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Tue, May 2012 00:00