Saturday, February 11, 2012

Islamic Extremists Behead Another Convert in Somalia

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Islamic Extremists Behead Another Convert in Somalia
Young Christian man murdered outside Mogadishu

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST MinistriesMOGADISHU, SOMALIA (ANS) -- Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that
Islamic extremists from the rebel al Shabaab militia in Somalia beheaded a
Christian on the outskirts of Mogadishu last month, sources said.

Members of Somalia’s hardline Islamist rebel group, al Shabaab, marching with weapons during a graduation ceremony in Mogadishu

(Photo: Reuters)

The CDN story said that the militants fighting the transitional government in
Mogadishu murdered Zakaria Hussein Omar, 26, on Jan. 2 in Cee-carfiid village,
about 15 kilometers (nine miles) outside of the Somali capital, they said. Omar had
worked for a Christian humanitarian organization that al Shabaab banned last year.

His body was left lying for 20 hours before nomads found it and carried it into
Mogadishu, a close friend said.

“Last year he mentioned to me that his life was in danger when the NGO [Non-Governmental Organization] he worked for was banned by the al Shabaab,” the friend
told Compass. “One of the persons who saw him said, ‘This is the young man who
stayed in Ethiopia, and people have been saying that he left Islam and joined
Christianity.’”

CDN said that Omar converted to Christianity seven years ago while in Ethiopia,
where he lived with relatives. He returned to Somalia in 2008 and completed his
university education in 2009 with a degree in accounting. Omar had married in the
latter part of 2010; he is survived by his wife, his parents (originally from central
Somalia), a brother and four sisters.

“With estimates of al Shabaab’s size ranging from 3,000 to 7,000, the insurgents
seek to impose a strict version of Sharia (Islamic law), but the transitional government
in Mogadishu fighting to retain control of the country treats Christians little better than
the al Shabaab extremists do. While proclaiming himself a moderate, President Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed has embraced a version of Sharia that mandates the death penalty
for those who leave Islam,” said the CDN story.

“Al Shabaab was among several splinter groups that emerged after Ethiopian forces removed the Islamic Courts Union, a group of sharia courts, from power in Somalia in
2006. It has been designated a terrorist organization by several western governments.”
For more information, please go to: www.compassdirect.org
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA

Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

XAYLAA KA DIGAY

Monday, January 30, 2012

Somalia Militants Flogging Woman Over Christian Conversion

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (Worthy News)– A Somali woman, who converted from Islam to Christianity, was nursing her injuries Wednesday, January 11, after she was reportedly paraded before a cheering crowd and publicly flogged as a punishment for embracing a "foreign religion."

Christians said 28-year-old Sofia Osman from Janale city in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, had been taken into custody by fighters of the Islamic militant group al-Shabab militants in November and that the public mistreatment was meant to mark her release.

Compass Direct News, a Christian news agency investigating cases of persecution, cited witnesses as saying that the young woman received 40 lashes on December 22 "while jeered by spectators".

“I saw her faint. I thought she had died, but soon she regained consciousness and her family took her away,” an identified witness was quoted as saying.

The whipping was administered in front of "hundreds of spectators" after Osman was released from her month-long custody in an al-Shabab camps, Christians said.

At her family’s home she was seen looking dazed and did not talk to anyone. There was no immediate known comment from al-Shabab, which is known for enforcing a strict brand of Islam in areas under its rule and is believed to have links to the al-Qaida terror group.

MORE CHRISTIANS ATTACKED
Al-Shabab has been linked to the mistreatment and killings of several Christians in recent years. It also blocked most international aid workers from accessing parts of Somalia suffering from drought and famine.

The reported attack against Osman came shortly after Ibrahim, a 23-year-old Somali Christian, was beaten while on his way back home in an undisclosed town in neighboring Kenya on December 5, Christians said.

Locals claimed that he was beaten by "a gang of young Muslim men" because he was an alleged "apostate", the word used for abandoning Islam. His family said in published remarks that Ibrahim had been raised as a Christian his entire life.

They only used his first name amid security concerns.

Many Somali Christians are known to seek refuge in neighboring Kenya, amid growing tensions at home.

EXTREMISM SEEN SPREADING
While it was unclear whether the men attacking Ibrahim were al-Shabab members, Kenyan authorities said they were aware of the threat posed to Christians and others by the group's sympathizers within Kenya itself.

In October, a non-Somali Kenyan man was sentenced to life in prison after confessing to carrying out two grenade attacks in Nairobi that killed one person and injured 20 people.

And, a new video message posted to a jihadist website calls on Muslim youths in Kenya to join the Somali militant group in its fight against Kenyan forces in Somalia.

The Kenyan military launched a major operation in Somalia targeting al-Shabab, which Kenya blames for a series of cross-border attacks and kidnappings.

Additionally, Al-Shabab is recruiting Western fighters, including British and American citizens, U.S. and other officials say.

AMERICAN DETAINED
This week, the United States charged a former U.S. Army major for trying to join the militant group. He was detained by Kenyan police last month on his way to the border with Somalia.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 as international peacekeepers have been unable to secure most of the nation.

Two-decades of fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people, according to Western observers and aid groups.

Related News Stories:

Saturday, January 28, 2012

MARYAM

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Isamists Arrest A Muslim Father After His Sons Convert To Christianity

Washington, D.C. (January 25, 2012) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on January 14 Somali Islamists arrested a Muslim father after two of his teenage children converted to Christianity in Kismayo, Somalia. The two sons of Mo’alim Mohamud Aw-Omar converted to Christianity late last year. They fled their homes following their conversion.

Members of the radical Islamic group, al-Shabaab, accused Aw-Omar of “failing to raise his sons as good Muslims” because “good Muslims cannot convert to Christianity.” Aw-Omar, who is still a Muslim, insisted that his sons have memorized the Qur’an, fasted and prayed regularly and therefore he should not be accused of failing his duties.

According to sources on the ground, the Islamists have refused to release Aw-Omar until his two sons return to Kismayo. This is unlikely to happen because the teenagers will be killed if they return. According to the strict interpretation of the Islamic sharia law that Al-Shabaab follows, leaving Islam is a crime punishable by death. The law is based on the Hadith “…The Prophet of Allah said, ‘If somebody [a Muslim] discards his religion, kill him” Bukhari (52:260).

Radical Islamists have killed a number of Christian converts in Somalia. This is the first confirmed case of a parent being arrested for the conversion of children.

In a statement to ICC, a Somali Christian leader said, “This tactic (of arresting parents for conversion of children) is apparently intended to discourage Muslims from converting to Christianity since their Muslim parents could be held accountable for their conversion. The Somali Islamists have previously tried other failed harsh tactics such as summary executions of converts to minimize the number of Muslims converting to Christianity. Please pray for the Somali Christians, especially those living in Islamist controlled areas in southern Somalia.”

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, “The Somali people have suffered enough. Al-Shabaab shouldn’t be allowed to continue terrorizing Somalis. We urge Al-Shabaab to respect the religious freedom of all Somalis. We also urge Christians around the world to pray for their brothers and sisters in Somalia.”

Tags: Al-Shabaab

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Africa, Countries, ICC News, Islam, News, Press Releases,Somalia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Buchanan Sold Her Belongings to Become Missionary

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB and DANA HUGHES (@dana_hughes)

Jan. 25, 2012

Jessica Buchanan, the woman rescued from Somalia bandits by U.S. special forces, is so dedicated to helping others that she sold all of her belongings to become a missionary in Somalia.

Buchanan, 32, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Valley Forge University, a Christian college in Phoenixville, Pa., in 2007. She was a student teacher in Africa before graduating and her romance with the continent began.

"She fell in love with Africa," Rev. Don Meyer, dean of Valley Forge University told the Associated Press. "She could hardly talk about Africa without tears in her eyes."

Her home church, the York Cavalry Temple Assembly of God, put out a message during her captivity that combined her devotion and determination.

"Please pray for Jessica and her family. She is a former student at Valley Forge Christian college and she sold all she owned to become a missionary in Somalia. Pray for her safe keeping and safe return," the church said.

Buchanan's family also appears to be deeply devoted to their religion. In a statement of gratitude today to the SEALs, the State Department and President Obama, they said, "We knew that God would set our sister free."

Madeline Mathe, Buchanan's sister's mother-in-law, told ABC affiliateWSYR Buchanan is "a wonderful Christian girl."

Others attested to Buchanan's grit.

"She's up for a challenge, and it didn't surprise me that she would do something like this," John Hravatic, who worked as a teacher with Buchanan at the Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi, Kenya, told ABC News. He called Buchanan "adventurous" and vivacious."

Jessica Buchanan Is a Missionary Who Loves Africa

Buchanan started as a student teacher at Nairobi's Rosslyn Academy in 2007 because of "God's call on her life to teach overseas," according to her biography on the school's web site. She student taught first and sixth graders before being hired as a fourth grade teacher in 2008.

"She was an awesome teacher. Kids loved her," Hravatic said. "[The] kids are excited she is free."

Buchanan left the school in 2009. She moved to Hargeisa, Somalia with her Swedish husband, Erik Landemalm, who she met in Africa.

Landemalm did aid work for the Association of European Parliamentarians With Africa and served as a Project Officer in the group's Somalia office, according to its annual report.

Buchanan, 32, was kidnapped on Oct. 25, 2011, along with her Danish co-worker Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, in Galkayo, Somalia. The two worked together for the Danish Demining Group, a division of the Danish Regugee Council, Buchanan served as a regional education adviser, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Over the three months of her captivity, concern grew about Buchanan's deteriorating health, which was described as possibly "life-threatening" and a "window of opportunity for mission success" presented itself, according to Pentagon spokesperson George Little.

Meyer told ABC News he heard something was wrong with Buchanan's liver, but that she seems to be in good health now.

The two were rescued today by the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6, the same covert group that successfully carried out the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.

Buchanan is doing "as well as you would expect given what she has gone through," a military official told ABC News.

Buchanan is currently at U.S. Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.

According to her family, she will be reunited with her father in Italy.

ABC News' Martha Raddatz, Luis Martinez, and Erin McLaughlin contributed to this report

Somalis For Jesus