Nigerian Believers Pray for 'Change of Heart' by Boko Haram Islamist Group

By Michael Ireland
Special Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

MUBI, NIGERIA (ANS) -- Multiple sources are confirming that an incident in which about 25 to 30 Christian college students massacred at a university in northeastern Nigeria late Monday night (Oct.1), has caused Christians to pray for a "change of heart" among the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram to put a stop to the continued violence.

A report by Katherine Weber of the The Christian Post, says that while there is speculation as to the motive of the massacre, sources close to the human rights watchdog Open Doors USA confirm that the massacre was performed by Boko Haram.

The Christian Post says that Emily Fuentes, the communications and public relations coordinator for Open Doors, who recently visited Nigeria, spoke to Christian leaders about Boko Haram, and told The Christian Post that believers around the world can agree that prayer is the "only thing that will change the people of Boko Haram."

"There are people who are turning to Christ who used to be in the Boko Haram, and God is changing their hearts," Fuentes told the online Christian news outlet.

"A lot of Christians believe that God will change these peoples' hearts," she added.

The Christian Post says in its online report the killings reportedly occurred in the late night hours on Oct. 1, when masked gunmen went door-to-door in the off-campus housing section of Federal Polytechnic C ollege in Mubi, a city in the remote Adamawa State in northeastern Nigeria.

The news outlet says that Open Doors USA sources confirmed that the gunmen separated the Christian students from the Muslim students, addressed each victim by name, questioned them, and then proceeded to shoot them or slit their throat.

"Open Doors is calling on Christians in the West to bear this horrific burden with our brothers and sisters in Mubi and Adamawa state," Open Doors USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra said in a press release emailed to The Christian Post.

"Nigeria is becoming a killing field," he added.

Fuentes told the news outlet that according to a local Nigerian police chief, Monday night's killing were performed by Boko Haram as an act of reprisal after 156 Boko Haram members were arrested in Mubi in late September.

Fuentes told the news outlet during the phone interview that the goal of the terror group, which has reportedly overtaken 13 of Nigeria's northern states, is to make the country a completely Islamic nati on and rid it of all western influence.

"In these [Nigerian] states to be a Christian is of grave danger," Fuentes said, adding that killing Christians is "Boko Haram's way of wiping out western influence."

Fuentes confirmed that in Mubi, where Monday night's massacre took place, there has been some form of violent attack on Christians nearly every day since Nov. 2011.

Fuentes shared the testimonials involving a change of heart by two Boko Haram members.

In one testimonial, a former Boko Haram member found the Gospel of Jesus Christ and converted. He now serves as a witness to other Boko Haram members, and although he receives threats to his life daily, he has managed to stay alive, the news outlet reported.

Other Boko Haram members, according to Fuentes, have not converted to Christianity but have seen the "goodness of the Christian religion" and now warn Christians before there is an attack.

In light of Monday's attack, the news outlet says Open Doors USA requested that all Christians pray for the families of the deceased students, who have been "thrown into mourning" and are reportedly in "indescribably pain right now."

"Please pray for the parents, families and friends of the innocent victim of this slaughter. Pray that they will receive the comfort only our Lord can give. Pray that justice will prevail. Pray that Christians will not retaliate," Open Doors said.

The news outlet added that Boko Haram has yet to openly claim responsibility for Monday night's massacre.

Students Say Christians Targeted in Nigeria's University Killings

Carnage follows authorities' raid on area Islamic extremists of Boko Haram

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

YOLA, NIGERIA (ANS) -- The gunmen who killed at least 46 people in Nigeria's northwestern town of Mubi on Oct. 1 first asked them if they were Christians before shooting or knifing them, according to students who escaped the carnage.

Rescue workers remove bodies to Mubi Morgue

Two students from the off-campus housing site in the Mubi suburb of Wuro Fatuje, Adamawa state, where the massacre took place, told Morning Star News that the assailants were ethnic Hausa Muslims who shouted "Allahu Akbar (God is greater)" as they shot or stabbed hostel residents.

According to a story by Morning Star News, one of the students said the assailants also torched a church building in nearby Tudun Wada the same night.

Morning Star News said the students speculated that non-Christian victims among the dead were killed by mistake or suspected of collaborating with security agency raids in Mubi last month. The raids resulted in the round-up of 156 members of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and the death of one of its leaders.

The gunmen invaded the off-campus housing site serving three Mubi schools - Federal Polytechnic, School of Health Technology and Adamawa State University - at about 10 p.m., "forcing into students' rooms and asking those they identified as Christians to recant their Christian faith," said one of the students living at the site.

The student added, "Those who refused to do so were either shot or had their throats cut with knives."

Morning Star News said the Christian student of business and management at the Federal Polytechnic, like two other students who said Christians were targeted, has left the area and was willing to have his name published. However, it is being withheld as Boko Haram has extensive networks throughout the country. He said by phone that his escape was nothing short of miraculous.

The student said, "When they entered my hostel's compound, they were knocking on our doors one after the other. They were asking students, 'What is your name?'" Each time we heard them asking, and the next thing we would hear was gunshot. They moved from one room to another, knocking on the door and shouting in Hausa and English. They were asking us to open the door."

When they reached his room, he said, he did not open the door.

"I remained in prayer, until they left my door to the other rooms," Morning Star News reported he said. "I didn't know what made them not to break into my room as they did to other students living in the hostel. When I came out later, I was still hearing gunshots and the wailing of students who were being killed in other compounds. It was a horrible scene. I counted five bodies in my compound."

Morning Star News said another business/management student at the Polytechnic also living at the housing site corroborated the account of the other student.

"The gunmen were asking students if they were Christians or Muslims, and then asked Christian victims to deny Christ," the student said. "Christian students who refused to do so were killed by the gunmen instantly."

Morning Star News said he added that the attackers also set fire to a Pentecostal church in Tudun Wada.

"I learned that the Redeemed Christian Church in Tudun Wada was also burnt down when the attackers visited the area," he said.

Morning Star News said the students' accounts may contradict or complement Polytechnic and Red Cross officials' statements that the gunmen arrived at the off-campus housing site and fired indiscriminately at residents for about an hour.

Motive Investigated

Morning Star News said at least 26 students from the Federal Polytechnic were killed in the attack, while another 20 victims were students at the Adamawa State University and the School of Health Technology, also in Mubi, according to a student tally based on school official statements.

According to Morning Star News, an unknown number of wounded students, some of them in critical condition, were being treated at General Hospital in Mubi.

The three schools have closed, creating difficulties in obtaining more information, but among Christian students killed were Chimonbi Festus, Lucky Emmanuel, Ishaku Ibrahim, John Kingsley and Charles Chikodi, Morning Star News reported sources said. Baba Karewa, dean of student affairs at the Polytechnic, said the institution will remain closed indefinitely.

Elias Pwanidi, president of the polytechnic's Student Union Government, told Morning Star News by phone that 46 bodies had been recovered and transferred to the Mubi General Hospital Morgue. Pwanidi, who resided on campus, said he had heard that the assailants asked the students about their names and religion.

Morning Star News reported that a week before the massacre, officials announced that Nigerian security agents had carried out a massive search among houses in Mubi, arresting 156 members of the Boko Haram group that has terrorized Christians in the area for months.

A Boko Haram bomb manufacturing plant was discovered, and the military recovered a cache of arms and Improvised Explosive Devices. A Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Yola, known to area Muslims as Abu Jihad, was killed.

Morning Star News reported that Adamawa police officials, however, stated that only 25 students were killed, and that student union politics was suspected as a motive for the attack.

"Our men have recovered 25 dead bodies from the students' rooms, and we suspect that there may be some students involved in the attack as there was a student union election a week earlier," said Ibrahim Mohammed, a spokesman for the Adamawa State Police Command in Yola. "It is possible this may be a reason for the attack, but we are still investigating the incident."

Morning Star News said the attack follows earlier murders of Christians in the town. In January, 13 Christians holding a town hall fellowship in Mubi were killed. Local police blamed the killings on Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is a sin."

Morning Star News said according to the BBC, Boko Haram has been blamed for the deaths of more than 1,400 people since 2010. The Islamist sect has targeted churches, state offices, law enforcement sites and some moderate mosques in its effort to destabilize the government and impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on all of Nigeria.

Morning Star News said Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigeria's population of 158.2 million and live mainly in the south, while Muslims account for 45 percent and live mainly in the north. However, those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World, so the percentages of Christians and Muslims may be less.

Morning Star News reported that Dr. Reuben Abati, special adviser on media and publicity to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said in a news release that the Mubi killings were tragic, sad, barbaric and shocking.

"The president has directed security agencies to investigate the matter and get to the root, because this kind of incident, where people are called out and shot, is really shocking," the statement reads.

Bail Petition Filed for Man Accused of Blasphemy and Jailed

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Lawyers for Khuram Masih, a Christian accused of blasphemy and jailed, are still hopeful for his bail. He has a petition for bail scheduled to be heard on Oct. 8 in the court of Sayyed Mazahar, Ali Akbar Naqvi, a High Court judge.

Khuram Masih

According to an Internet posting by Lawyers of the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), which followed his case, the 23-year-old man was physically worn out but overjoyed that he has survived.

LEAD said he has not stopped thanking God for allowing justice to triumph.

According to LEAD, on Dec. 5 2011, a blasphemy case was filed in Lahore against Masih.

He was accused of burning pages of the Quran, was arrested the same day and jailed. LEAD said he has been beaten by police officials while in custody.

LEAD said its attorneys tracked the case and filed a petition for bail. That petition was dismissed on Jan. 3 2012.

According to LEAD, a second petition for bail was filed in Lahore High Court in which Judge Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, ordered that a trial be wrapped up within three months.

After seven months, LEAD filed another bail petition in the same judge's court.

LEAD said, "We are very hopeful that the bail will be granted, and he will be released very soon and united with his family, (just as) Rimsha Masih was released on bail."

LEAD said the president of PCC of Lahore District and National Director of LEAD Missionary Pastor and Advocate Mushtaq Gill urged the Pakistani government to take strong measures regarding the abuses of blasphemy laws against Pakistani Christians.

LEAD said he also requested that the policy be amended so that those accused of blasphemy be granted bail until a trial has concluded.

LEAD asked readers to partner with the organization regarding its fight for the persecuted church in Pakistan.

‘I will never forget that day’

A visit with Hannatu Dantong, widow of slain Nigerian senator

Emily Fuentes

Open Doors USA

Jos, October 5 (Open Doors News) — It has been nearly three months since Hannatu Dantong’s husband died. She has been surrounded by his colleagues and family during this time, but still is in a deep state of mourning.

“I find the greatest comfort in Psalm 23,” Dantong said. “I am reminded that the Lord will always care for me, even during this trying time.”

On July 8^th, Nigerian Sen. Gyang Dantong was attending a funeral for more than 100 Christians who had been killed by members of Boko Haram the day before, in Plateau state. While the attendees were burying those who had died, gunmen infiltrated the service and began shooting those in attendance.

“One of the most difficult things to deal with is the fact that we still do not know exactly what happened that day,” Hannatu Dantong said during a visit with Open Doors News. “All we really know is that gunmen invaded the funeral and that my husband and others are dead.”

Gyang Dantong was a member of the Nigerian National Assembly, representing Jos, the capital of the Plateau state. He served four years in the House of Representatives, and then was elected to the Senate, where he had served for the past five years. He was an advocate for peace in the region and crossed many cultural, religious and tribal divides.

A physician by training, Dantong was as a surgeon at Vom Christian Hospital in rural Plateau. His election to the National Assembly took him away to the capital, Abuja, about 150 kilometers away. Despite the distance, he returned from the national assembly to assist with surgeries on a weekly basis.

“My husband did many things for Nigeria,” his widow said. “I know that his life blessed many and God will continue to use his legacy. My husband loved Nigeria and loved the people he served.”

Hannatu Dantong has three children; Dan and Grace attend university, but have remained at home to be with their mother during this time. They comforted their mother as she shared about the events of that day. 

“I will never forget that day,” she said. “My husband attended the funeral early in the morning and planned on returning soon after to accompany me to church. When he did not arrive home when he said he would, I was worried and called his cell phone multiple times, but he did not answer. I became so worried that I got in my car and started to drive myself to where the funeral was being held. As I began to drive, I received a call with the horrible news that my husband had been killed.”

“My husband loved the people he served,” she said, “and it is very difficult to move forward without him.”

END

Two Young Egyptian Christian Boys Accused of Defamation Of Islam

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

EGYPT (ANS) -- Two Coptic children have been detained on charges of Defamation of Islam.

According to a story by Mary Abdelmassih of the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), Mina Nady Farag, 9, and Nabil Nagy Rizk, 10, both from the village of Ezbet Marco in Beni Suef, were arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center.

The incarceration will last until Sunday, pending investigation into a complaint submitted by the village Muslims. The children will appear again before prosecution on Sunday.

AINA said Nabil's father told Copts United that his son does not read or write. He said the children were searching in a pile of trash to find "something useful" when they found a plastic bag with torn papers. They were stopped by a Salafi sheikh, who took the children to church to report them to the priest.

"He insisted that the priest stop mass and come outside to talk to him," said a resident of the village. The priest went out and chided the two boys.

According to AINA, not many newspapers covered this story which broke on Monday, and those which did had several versions of the story.

AINA reported that Al-Ahram, the semi-governmental daily, said in its Oct. 1 issue that authorities succeeded in containing a sectarian crisis between Muslims and Christians by arranging a meeting between Muslim and Christian families, where the Christians apologized and the Muslims accepted their apology.

AINA said Al-Ahram wrote that the two nine-year-old boys were tearing some old papers in a library, including papers "suspected to be from the Koran," when an imam of a mosque saw what they were doing, and subsequently took them to their parents to complain.

AINA said the newspapers later changed the story and reported that the two children "urinated" on the Koran.

"We thought the matter was sorted out after the meeting between the Muslim and Christian families two days ago, but we were stunned today when both boys were to be held in custody in a juvenile detention center," AINA reported Nabil's father said.

In a new development, AINA said it has been reported that the Muslims in Ezbet Marco have prevented the priest of the church from entering the village, allegedly because he did not chastise the two boys enough.

AINA said some Copts believe that the real aim behind this defamation of Islam story is to ban the priest from the village and stop any prayers in its church.

Christians Help Displaced Families in Rimsha Case

Witnesses against an Imam charged with planting evidence have changed their evidence

By Shamim Masih
Special to ASSIST News Service

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Rimsha Masih, is a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl arrested in a poor suburb in Islamabad on August 16 after a Muslim Imam accused her of burning papers containing verses from the Quran, in breach of Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.

Rimsha Masih -- what will happen now in her case

After a period in remand, the court on September 7, granted bail to Rimsha against two surety bonds of Pakistani Rs500, 000 each. 

She was then flown by a helicopter to an undisclosed location after her release from jail.

Since the day she was arrested, Christian families had to flee for their lives from that locality. Many of had been beaten by a mob on the day this incident happened, and these extremists also threatened them saying they planned to set their homes on fire.

So after all of this, they ran for their lives on the same midnight leaving their houses opened. Many of families tried to settle down in the forest in sector G-9/4, but due to the clutch of local residents and interference of local police, they couldn't.

However, the Chairman the Capital Development Authority (CDA) allowed them to live there for few months after their protest, even then local residents seized that piece of land.

After the release on bail of Rimsha, displaced families are trying to settle down now in a town called in Meharbadi, although there is apprehension there. During their displacement, some of them claimed that they lost their jobs and their household items were stolen.

During the three weeks of Rimsha's in jail, these families kept moving from place to place due to their fear. Since the rehabilitation process started, these families were neglected by the local government and NGO's mostly. But there is one organization seen that has been taking care of these displaced families.

A displaced family receiving aid

According to Farrukh H. Saif, from World Vision in Progress (WVIP), since the day they moved from the vicinity WVIP had been providing them with food on a regular basis. After the release of Rimsha, WVIP helped these families by paying them rents on monthly basis. Since then 75 families were being accommodated.

On October 2, Farrukh H. Saif came from Lahore to pay their monthly rent as per his promise. On the day, 25 families were being paid monthly rent as their compensation and WVIP promised to pay to more families in the coming week.

Earlier the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) supplied them with food stuff on a weekly basis through its local representative. BPCA has reached to 38 families and willing to supply food stuff to the displaced families up till their rehabilitation.

The case against Rimsha has now been complicated by the fact that three witnesses who had earlier testified against prayer leader Khalid Jadoon Chishti in the blasphemy case against Rimsha Masih withdrew their statements on Monday, insisting that the police had "coerced" them into doing so.

Earlier the three "witnesses" had claimed that they saw the cleric tearing some pages of the Quran and placing them in a plastic bag. The eyewitnesses had claimed that Chishti added those torn pages to the ashes seized from 14-year-old Rimsha to implicate her.

So now, those of us here in Pakistan are waiting to see what will happen in this strange and controversial case.