Missionary badly beaten in Nepal

Six men attacked and brutally beat a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary in Nepal on October 17. The men accused Indra Rai Waglan of blasphemy against their traditional gods. They also accused him of forcing all the members of two families to convert to Christianity.

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Indra and an elderly believer were travelling to a neighbouring village to conduct a prayer meeting when the attack happened. After the attack, the men left Indra unconscious beside the road. He was later able to get medical treatment. He has a broken rib and bruises all over his body. The police have identified and charged six men with the attack. Their case is now before the court. Please pray Indra will be completely healed and fully restored. Pray he will be given the strength to stand firm in Christ. Pray also for the perpetrators and the police involved in the case that the Holy Spirit will lead them to repentance and belief in the one true God. You can post a prayer for Indra Rai Waglan on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall. Find out more about the persecution of Christians in Nepal by visiting the Nepal Country Report.

Pakistani pastor beaten with bricks

On November 1, 10 Muslim extremists in Islamabad used bricks and hockey sticks to beat a Christian clergyman who is the subject of a fatwa demanding his death. The Rev. Dr. Suleman Nasri Khan, pastor of Power of the Healing God's Church, suffered a serious head injury, a hairline fracture in his arm and a broken bone in his left ankle in the assault. He was able to identify two of his assailants as Allama Atta-Ullah Attari and Allama Masaud Hussain. The attack follows Islamic scholar Allama Nawazish Ali's October 25th fatwa (religious ruling) to kill Khan. The fatwa was issued after Khan protested anti-Christian violence in Kalupura last month. Khan, a former fighter in Afghanistan, had relocated to a rented apartment in Islamabad after fleeing his home in Gujrat because of death threats against him and his family. Muslim extremists previously attacked Khan in 2008, after hearing of his conversion to Christianity. His 3-month-old daughter was killed in that assault. While fighting in Afghanistan's civil war in 2000, Khan found a New Testament lying on the battlefield. He immediately threw it away, but he says he heard a divine voice extending an invitation to him. When he later embraced Christ, he began preaching and studying, and he earned a doctorate in biblical theology from Punjab Theological Seminary in Kasur in 2005. Thank God for Khan's faithfulness. Pray for a full recovery. Pray the Lord will continue to strengthen him and protect him and his family from further harm. Pray for all Christians in Pakistan and Afghanistan who boldly follow Christ. To learn more about the Persecuted Church in Pakistan, visit the Pakistan Country Report.

Fire damage from blaze

On October 29, an unidentified arsonist in Israel set fire to a Jerusalem church building that has long been a focal point for anti-Christian sentiment in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood, church officials said. Shortly before 1 a.m., someone broke the basement windows of the Jerusalem Alliance Church Ministry Centre and set fire to its bottom floors. Smoke and the noise of the blaze awakened 10 volunteer workers who were sleeping at the church's overnight facilities. The volunteers, who were visiting Israel from the United States and Denmark, went to a nearby hospital and were treated for smoke inhalation. They were released several hours later. The church building sustained approximately $85,000 of damage. Jack Sara, senior pastor of the church, said he had difficulty understanding how the arsonist could have carried so much hate, as whoever set the fire had to know people were inside the church. Thank the Lord no one was seriously hurt as a result of the fire. Please pray that Jerusalem Alliance church members will not be fearful and continue to meet together. May their gracious witness be the light of Christ in the community. To learn more about anti-Christian sentiments in Israel, visit the Israel Country

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