bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Fasting…Without Grace

There is often a debate in Western nations regarding celebrating Christian holidays. For instance, should one wish a stranger “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” since you do not know if that individual celebrates Christmas? Although you could offend someone by failing to guess their preferred greeting somehow, you do not have to fear punishment. The same is not true for non-Muslims and even moderate Muslims during Ramadan in some Islamic nations.

Pakistan enacted the Ehtram-e-Ramazan ordinance in 1981, prohibiting anyone from eating in public places during fasting hours. If someone breaks the law, they can be fined and/or jailed for three months. In addition, the person serving someone breaking the Ramadan fast can also be fined and/or jailed. Keep in mind Muslims must abstain from both food and water during daylight hours, even when Ramadan occurs during hot weather. In 2013, a man who violated the ordinance for selling the food “paan” was sentenced to five days in prison, but it took him six years to finally get out of jail.

In July 2014, two Iranian men were flogged in public for eating during the fasting hours. The police chief of Iran’s Fars Province said that eating in public is a crime forbidden by Islamic law and that police will act against violators. Each of the men received 80 lashes.

This year, in Nigeria, the Islamic police, known as Hisbah, arrested eleven Muslims for eating during the fasting hours. Other nations that have penalties against eating or drinking during the day in Ramadan include Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. Punishments in those nations range from flogging in Saudi Arabia to fines and imprisonment. Some laws apply only to Muslims, but others apply to everyone.

Azad, an anonymous Pakistani ex-Muslim, writes, “Over the past few years, religious intolerance has grown in Pakistan. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is an Islamist extremist political party founded in 2015 that has become more and more prominent. This party openly calls for the murder of apostates and even for the execution of Muslims who commit acts deemed by the TLP as unIslamic. Ex-Muslims and religious minorities like Ahmadi Muslims and Hindus are all living in a state of constant fear as the Islamists grow in numbers and influence. During Ramadan, even non-Muslims are forced to remain hungry and thirsty because they fear Muslim majoritarianism.”

PRAYER

Muslims are ending this 30-day fast on Tuesday evening, April 9. Imagine fasting for 30 days during daylight hours without food and water, and in many places in the world, eating a morsel of food during daylight hours could bring severe punishment. This past week, a boy was beaten in a Chicago, Illinois, mosque because he was eating food in the bathroom. Muslims live under a strict law, with no grace given.

Thank God, as believers in Christ, we have been saved by grace and serve a God of grace and mercy. As we pray for Muslims:

  • Ask our Lord to give the Muslim people a revelation of His grace in the months to come, an understanding that Jesus longs to pour out His grace in every area of their lives, and give them a revelation of the wonders of His eternal love, bringing them to salvation in Christ!
bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Immigration in Islam

Nearly 2.6 million people legally immigrated to the U.S. in 2022. AFPI (America First Policy Institute) reports, “A record-setting 3.2 million illegal aliens were “encountered” nationwide by the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year (F.Y.) 2023, surpassing the previous high of 2.7 million illegal alien encounters nationwide in F.Y. 2022.”

There are many reasons people migrate from one place to another. However, non-Muslim communities need to be aware that migration or immigration by Muslims can be a form of jihad to spread Islam. Jihad, a duty for all Muslims, does not necessarily have to be violent. It can range from sacrificing comfort by immigration to supporting someone involved in violent jihad.

Muhammad himself set this example when he and a group of his early followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD. The migration, known as the Hijra, was a turning point for Islam, transforming Muhammad’s followers from a weak group to a powerful political group. It turned the religion into a political system and began the spread of Islam around the world.

Immigration becomes jihad when it is a stepping stone for transforming the existing community into an Islamic one. The Quran says, “Those who believed and emigrated and strove hard and fought in Allah’s cause with their wealth and their lives are far higher in degree with Allah. They are successful” (Sura 9:20).

Freedom of religion is non-existent within Islam. A non-Muslim is free to become Muslim, but not the other way around. The Islamization of a society happens gradually through techniques such as making demands for the rights of the Muslim community, conditioning the host community to the supremacy of Islam, and intermarriage. 

In a December 2023 statement, U.S. House Committee of Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green said, “The number of individuals apprehended illegally crossing the Southwest border and found to be on the terrorist watchlist has increased 2,500 percent from Fiscal Years 2017-2020 to Fiscal Year 2023. And those are only who we’ve caught.”

Although our attention will undoubtedly be drawn to the possibility of violent jihad, both types of jihad are a threat to Christians and our Western way of life.

PRAYER

Many Muslims immigrate to Western nations for freedom. However, in contrast, in 2009, Dr. Sam Solomon released a book on “Al-Hijra, The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration” that reveals Islamic immigration is meant to spread and strengthen Islam to achieve a worldwide caliphate.

  • Ask God to touch the hearts of those who have immigrated and cause them to recognize their need for spiritual freedom through Christ. 
  • Pray, according to Matthew 9:38, that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into His harvest,” resulting in many Muslims receiving salvation through Jesus Christ.
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Cultural Displacement

This weekend marked a rare intersection of Easter, Passover, and Ramadan holidays. Although Easter and Passover often fall on the same weekend, they only coincide with Ramadan about once every thirty years. 

The intersection of the three holidays has caused a stir in Britain due to the presence of Ramadan lights wishing Muslims a “Happy Ramadan,” while nothing was displayed for Easter. Along with Britons expressing their displeasure on social media, Alex Phillips of TalkTV said, “This (London) is the capital city of the United Kingdom, a Christian country. That is still our state religion, whether you follow it or not – and we’ve got a big Islamic festival being celebrated on the main, most important thoroughfares … it’s insane. [In places like Syria and Afghanistan,] they don’t let us put our Christmas lights up, do they? Christianity makes us the country we are today; it underpins our cultural values. This is insane. It is insulting.”

London is not the only major European city marking Ramadan. In Germany, Frankfort and Cologne put up Ramadan lights, and in Norway, the city of Oslo decorated a central street with crescent moons. In the U.S., Brooklyn, New York, has a 20-block Ramadan display in Bay Ridge, and Nassau Community College hosted the “first ever Muslim Lights Fest on Long Island.”

Perhaps another Briton best summed up this new trend in Western nations when he wrote, “Ramadan lights at Easter. This is cultural displacement.”

PRAYER

It is reported that a past leader made this observation: “When Muslims are the minority they are concerned with minority rights, when they are in the majority there are no minority rights.” Secularism creates a spiritual vacuum that Islam fills in Western nations.

Often leaders in Western nations will compromise because they want to prevent any religious violence and therefore they will permit things taking place by and for Muslims that they would never permit the promotion of it by Jews or Christians. Leaders and citizens need the wisdom of God in decisions they face regarding Islam, rather than responding to the situations with fear. 

  • Pray for leaders to respond in a Christ-centered way and in the best interest of their nation. 
  • Pray for Muslims in Western nations to be drawn to sound, Bible-believing churches to hear the gospel’s truth and hunger to know more about Jesus Christ and His love for them.
bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Choose Life

Since 9-11-2001, there have been over 44,900 deadly terror attacks perpetrated by Islamic terrorists around the world. The vast majority of these attacks are never reported by Western media often because they do not occur in a Western nation. For instance, in the last 30 days, there have been 141 Islamic attacks in 22 countries, in which 689 people were killed and 714 were injured, according to thereligionofpeace.com. Chances are the only attack that Western readers are familiar with is the one that occurred in Russia on March 22, where ISIS killed 139 concertgoers.   

The governments of the U.S. and other Western nations often refuse to address the danger of Islamic terrorism to avoid being labeled Islamophobic. According to the Daily Wire, many U.S. intelligence agencies received instructions to avoid using terms such as “jihadist” in a newsletter called “The Dive.” One of the stated goals is “disentangling Islam from words and phrases used to discuss terrorism and extremist violence.” This type of policy keeps those who are entrusted with the safety of Westerners from understanding or identifying the potential threat of Islamic terrorists.

However, Robert Spencer, in an article published on frontpagemag.com, perhaps gave a most optimistic attitude, saying, “Each of us must decide, as surely as God offered the choice to the Israelites: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Spencer continued, “Jihadis love to proclaim how much they “love death.” Let us, in turn, love life all the more and stand to counter them and their inhuman totalitarian leftist allies, secure in the knowledge that in the end, life conquers death.”

PRAYER

Kamal Saleem, a former radical terrorist from the Middle East, is an anointed man of God today. In his recent book, “Ishmael Redeemed,” Kamal stated that of the nearly 2 billion Muslims worldwide, more than 4 out of 5 are not radical.” Apparently they want to live a peaceful life. 

“Heavenly Father, we recognize that Jesus died for the sins of Muslims and longed for them to be in the kingdom of God. Draw them, Lord (John 6:44), giving them a desire for truth and revealing the heart of Jesus to them, to bring them to salvation. In Christ’s name, we pray, Amen!”

bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Sharia: A Violation of Women’s Human Rights

On March 8, 2024, International Women’s Day, a group of Muslim and non-Muslim people from many nations lodged a formal complaint before the UN Human Rights Council on the violation of women’s human rights caused by Sharia (Islamic) law. This group includes victims of Sharia, human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and other concerned professionals from around the world. 

The complaint names the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), “the collective voice of the Muslim world,” as the violators. The OIC has 57 member nations, 56 of which are also members of the UN. 

This complaint addresses three different areas: violence against women, Sharia, and aspects of Islamic culture, which include practices such as unequal educational opportunities, female genital mutilation, and head coverings for women. According to the press release of the complaint, 71% of the Quran and 91% of the Hadith give women a lower status than men. In addition, the press release highlights Sharia-linked violence:

“Sharia-linked violence is inflicted upon women in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and includes the recent extreme sexual violence committed against Israeli women in October 2023 by Hamas, proven by the UN. 

The complaint continues regarding the violation of women with the infliction of sexual slavery on Yazidi women by the Islamic State (IS); the killing of Iranian women for not wearing the hijab; the trafficking, kidnapping, and forced conversion of Coptic Christian girls in Egypt; and abduction of girls and women in Nigeria by Boko Haram. It also includes the mass attacks on women in Germany in 2015; the rape of girls in the UK by the so-called ‘grooming gangs’; the forced conversion, kidnapping, and murder of Hindu girls in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, to name a few.”

PRAYER

It is encouraging to see that an awareness of Sharia-linked violence against women has been presented at the UN Human Rights Council. Our concern is that some of the 47 nations that presently sit on this Council may allow this violence against women. 

  • Ask God to open the eyes of those nations who allow this violence and bring His conviction, causing them to change their mindset against women. 
  • Pray for an outpouring of healing, hope, comfort, and courage for all the women who have experienced this Sharia-linked violence, asking for visions and dreams of Jesus to appear in their midst, bringing them to salvation in Christ.
bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Islam’s Works: Shahada

Islam is a works-based religion. To go to paradise, Muslims need to adhere to all of the five pillars, and even then, their ultimate fate is up to the will of Allah.

Ramadan is only one of the five pillars of Islam. These pillars are five basic acts considered mandatory by Muslims. A list of the pillars is found in the hadith, (Sahih al-Bukhaari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 8):

Allah’s Messenger said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):

  1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
  2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly.
  3. To pay Zakat (i.e., obligatory charity).
  4. To perform Hajj. (i.e., Pilgrimage to Mecca)
  5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.

The first pillar is a confession of faith called the shahada. The confession must be declared in Arabic and be said with conviction and an understanding of its meaning. The first part, “there is no god but Allah,” declares that only Allah can be worshipped, and that Allah has no partner or son. The second part declares that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. It should be noted that you do not become a Muslim by simply pronouncing the words in Arabic. The oral declaration is a reflection of belief that is held in one’s heart.

The complete “shahada” does not appear in the Qur’an. It is actually found in Sura 9:31 and in Sura 33:40. As soon as a baby is born into a Muslim family, these words are whispered into his ears, and if possible, a Muslim is encouraged to repeat the words as he is dying.

PRAYER

It is helpful for us to be reminded that they become Muslims by their works, Thank God,  Christians receive salvation through faith in Christ. 

The Islamic religion requires Muslims to pray five times a day. In an Islamic nation (and even in a few American cities), they hear the call to pray from loudspeakers at the mosque five times a day. A man 50 years old has listened to this piercing call 90,000 times. The power of repetition is deceptive. Repeating a doctrine that many times becomes ingrained in the mind and is perceived as truth. Even with all this, they still feel empty and alone! Muslims need a relationship with Jesus to fill that void. 

God says to take every thought captive to the light and obedience of Christ. Pray for Muslims that the truth of Christ will prevail over this deception.

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Ramadan Prayer 2024

God’s love for the Muslim people is immeasurable! Each year, Best Current News joins Christians around the world in praying for Muslims to encounter Christ during the Islamic month of fasting known as Ramadan. As Ramadan begins, thank you for joining us in prayer for the Muslim people. 

Officials in Saudi Arabia spotted the crescent moon on Sunday night, marking the beginning of the month of Ramadan. Multiple Gulf Arab nations, as well as Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, will begin the sunrise-to-sunset Ramadan fast on Monday, March 11. Other nations, including Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, will start on Tuesday after officials in those countries failed to see the crescent moon. In addition, Iran, Oman, and Jordan will begin on Tuesday.

Ramadan comes from the Arabic word “ar-ramad,” which means scorching heat. Muslim Matters reports that the month was named Ramadan because it burns the believers’ sins, purifying and molding them into better people. As a works-based religion, Islam teaches that in order to reach paradise, a follower’s good deeds must outweigh their bad deeds.

As Christians, we know that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life. During the month of scorching heat, let us pray that Muslims all around the world meet Jesus, who promises that “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14).

Prayer:

Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” We thank You, Father God, that you are drawing Muslims around the world to Your Son to receive Him as Lord of their lives. As Ramadan begins, we believe that drawing power of the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts of the nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world, and in the next 30 days, multitudes of hearts will be impacted with the gospel of Christ! We thank You for doing it, Lord!

bestcurrentnews 2023 Ramadan Prayer

The Basis of Faith

Both Christianity and Islam have foundational texts. For Christians, it is the Bible; for Muslims, it is primarily the Qur’an. 

Christians believe that God gave the Bible through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to more than forty authors. These authors wrote over an almost 1600-year period from three continents in three languages. Despite being written by different authors, the Bible does not contradict itself, and external texts are not necessary to practice Christianity.

The words of the Bible have been well preserved. Israel’s religious leaders created a system to ensure the accuracy of copies of the Old Testament through meticulous proofreading techniques. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered between the years of 1947 and 1956, are in substantial agreement with the Old Testament throughout the generations proving that the text has been preserved and kept the same. The accuracy of the New Testament is proven through dated copies and writings of the Church fathers. In fact, these writings contain over 38,000 quotations from the New Testament, making it possible to reconstruct the entire New Testament minus 11 verses.

In Islam, the Qur’an is considered to be the actual words of Allah dictated to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a 23-year period. Muhammad recited these words to his followers and instructed them to write them down on various materials such as palm leaves, bones, and stones. The words were assembled into the Qur’an after Muhammad’s death. This resulted in different versions of the Qur’an. The differences sometimes slightly affected the meaning but did not change the basic ideas of the Qur’an. Almost twenty years after Muhammad’s death, Caliph Uthman established a committee to produce an official version of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an’s chapters (or suras) are not in chronological order but are organized by length, starting with the longest, except for the opening chapter. It consists of 114 suras which read like an Arabic poem. Although the Qur’an has been translated into many languages, Muslims are encouraged to read and recite the Qur’an in Arabic, its original language. The Qur’an is also divided into thirty equal parts so that Muslims can read a portion each day during Ramadan.

The Qur’an states around ninety times that Muhammad is the perfect Muslim, so in order to properly practice Islam, a Muslim must worship Allah as Muhammad worshipped him, which is why external texts (the hadith and sira) are a vital part of Islam. The hadith are reports of Muhammad’s teachings, deeds, and sayings compiled generations after his death. As the Islamic website “whyislam” explains that without the hadith, the Qur’an does not make sense. The sıra is the biography of Muhammad. Together the hadith and sira make up the sunna (Muhammad’s way of life and legal precedent). If all a Muslim possessed was a Qur’an, he could not practice his religion.

PRAYER POINT:

  • By reading the Bible, we read words that bring God’s life into our hearts and understanding, bringing joy and peace. For Muslims, reading the Quran, which is more of a “duty,” does not bring hope and joy to their lives. Pray that during Ramadan, Muslims will be curious to see what is in the Bible, the true Word of God, and be drawn to read its life-changing message.
bestcurrentnews 2023 Ramadan Prayer

Christians: Be Prepared

According to Open Doors 2023, World Watch List, more than 360 million Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. 5,621 Christians (approximately 15 per day) were killed last year for their faith. 89% of those killed were in Nigeria as Islamic jihadi groups, such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), attempt to eliminate the presence of Christianity in the nation. 

Since Open Doors began their World Watch List thirty years ago, the number of countries where Christians suffer persecution has almost doubled. Although we tend to think of Christian persecution as overt acts of violence or discrimination against Christians, persecution can include hostile words and actions, and increasingly Christians, even in Western nations, are experiencing persecution. 

1 Peter 3:8-22 speaks of Christian persecution and instructs believers on how to respond. “…Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (I Peter 3:14-15).

Peter directed believers to have a deep personal relationship with Christ and to be able to respectfully explain their faith clearly to others. Being “ready to give an answer” is a natural response to being in a close, loving relationship with God. We naturally defend those that we love because we know them intimately. In order to be prepared, we need to first study and meditate on God’s Word and develop a strong prayer life. 

Our relationship with God, however, goes much deeper than an emotional response. Our faith is based on truth – and the crux of that truth is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s these core truths where Christianity and Islam differ, and as we go through the next few weeks, we will be looking at those truths so that you may be able to better direct your prayers and be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have.

Why pray for Christians during Ramadan? Because the lifestyle of Christians is one of the top reasons Muslims come to know Christ. Other reasons include the spiritual truth that is contained in the Bible and Biblical teachings about the love of God. Pray for Christians to draw closer to God and develop a deep personal relationship with Him so that their lives reflect Christ in all that they do. Pray that Muslims will see the difference in the lives of Christians and be drawn to the Truth.

Finally, rejoice that God is answering prayer. Open Doors reports that persecution lessened in nations like Qatar (falling 16 places in the World Watch List) and Egypt (falling 15 places) in 2022. Other smaller drops in persecution occurred in Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan. 

PRAYER POINTS:

  • A primary reason there is the persecution of Christians by Muslims is (1) they have never met a faithful Christian to influence their lives, and (2) they are taught to “kill the infidel.” Ask our Lord to open their eyes to hatred and to see that true followers of Christ want to be their friend.
  • More Muslims have come to Christ in the last 15 years than combined in the previous 1400 years of Islam. Pray they will have a longing for spiritual things and have dreams and visions of the Lord Jesus, bringing them to salvation.