bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

ISIS: Ideas Recruit Jihadis

2016 Ramadan GraphicIn June of 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of ISIS, announced the formation of an Islamic caliphate called the Islamic State. The Islamic State has been quite successful in its attempts to recruit fighters for its cause in Iraq and Syria.

In a New York Times article published on September 26, 2015, intelligence analysts estimate that around 30,000 foreign fighters from 100 different countries (including about 250 from the United States) have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq. Approximately 6,000 of the foreign fighters are Westerners. It is estimated that ISIS is recruiting in the United States at about three times the rate of Al Qaeda.

The conflict in Syria has been called the most “socially mediated civil conflict in history.” Few journalists have had direct access to battles within Syria. In fact in 2013, a year before the announcement of the formation of the Islamic State, Syria was considered “the most dangerous place in the world for journalists.”

Most television media has relied heavily on YouTube videos and citizen journalists to report what is happening. According to a report released in January 2014 by the United States Institute of Peace, “An exceptional amount of what the outside world knows (or thinks it knows) about Syria’s nearly three-year-old conflict has come from videos, analysis, and commentary circulated through social networks.”

ISIS recruits many of their members on social media and has been known to post as many as 55,000 posts per day. In addition a large number of the foreign fighters did not receive their information about the Syrian conflict through official channels of the fighting groups, but rather through individuals who are not affiliated with any of the terror groups.

Every act by jihadists are justified by radical Islamic scholars or clerics. The ideology behind terrorism is more important than the actual terror leaders themselves. Leaders of terror groups are replaceable. Ideas, however, continue to live long after a terror leader has been killed.

Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam. A Saudi Arabian news station once described him as the “bin Laden of the Internet.” He communicated his message through a blog, a Facebook page, the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire and many YouTube videos. As imam of a Falls Church, Virginia mosque, al-Awlaki had ties to three of the 9/11 hijackers. He also influenced Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan and the Christmas Day Underwear Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab. Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011, however his teachings continue to influence Islamists in the West.

Three of the most important spiritual authorities in the West today are Australian Musa Cerantonio, British Anjem Choudary, and American Ahmad Musa Jibril. Through social media they have become new spiritual authorities to whom Western and European foreign fighters are looking to for guidance and inspiration.

Prayer Points:

Social media inspires radical Islamists, yet it also aids western governments to thwart many attacks as they identify and monitor those who follow radical ideologues. Pray that government leaders and law enforcement will have God’s wisdom and courage as they carefully balance freedom of expression with incitement to violence.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Required Ritual of Islam: Zakat

2016 Ramadan GraphicThe last three pillars of Islam are zakat, hajj and the fast of Ramadan. We explained Ramadan on day one of our prayer series so today we will examine zakat.

Zakat (almsgiving) is one of the five pillars of Islam and therefore required for all Muslims. Zakat is the systematic giving of 2.5% of one’s wealth each year to benefit the poor.

Zakat is based on the “wealth” of a Muslim, not income. For instance the Zakat calculator for the Zakat Foundation of America helps to calculate the amount a Muslim should give by requesting their cash on hand in bank accounts, money loaned to others, expected tax refunds, the value of gold, silver and other precious items, stocks, bonds, IRA’s, and business assets.

There is a minimum wealth threshold called nisab. Islamic Relief Worldwide states that today there are two measures of nisab either the price of gold (3 ounces) or silver (21 ounces). The nisab threshold varies depending on the current market value. This year the nisab is approximately $3,731 by using the gold measurement and $304 by using the silver measurement. There are arguments between Muslim scholars as to which measurement should be used.

Muslims believe that neglecting to give zakat can result in damnation, and is a sign of hypocrisy. Charity in Islam is different than in the western world. In Christianity charity means to give to someone in need. In Islam, it can go to the poor, but it also can go to fund jihad.

The Qur’an, Sura 9:60, gives eight categories for the distribution of zakat. These categories include the poor, those short of money, zakat workers, those who hearts are to be reconciled, slaves purchasing their freedom, those in debt, those fighting for Allah and travelers needing money.  Those fighting for Allah are to be given enough “to suffice them for the operation, even if affluent.” Islamic law scholars also indicate that zakat should also be given to support the families during the time the fighter is away.

The Islamic State announced they would collect zakat from areas they controlled. Financial Times relates an incident of zakat collection by ISIS:

Mansour, a 26-year-old grocery storekeeper in eastern Syria, stalled payment while he tried to cook his books.

A week later, four ISIS officials stormed into his shop, ordered him outside, and tallied the bill themselves — to his dismay they based their calculation on the retail price of his stock. There were no price tags on the tinned beef, so one tax collector rode around town on his motorbike comparing canned beef prices in other stores.

Five hours later, the audit was complete. The bill: 32,500 Syrian lira (about $108).

“They told me, ‘You liar … How will victory be achieved if you’re not paying zakat?’”

Intelligence sources say zakat is a part of the way the Islamic State keeps its economy going. Since zakat can be used for those fighting in jihad, the Islamic State uses it to fund the salaries of its jihadis and finance services such as street cleaning and bread subsidies. The Financial Times estimates ISIS collected over $20 million of zakat on grain and cotton.

Western nations do not realize that one-eighth of the contributions of zakat, according to the Qur’an, is to support the active cause of Islam and used to support jihad.

Prayer Points:

Ask God to expose to Muslims the fact that some of the funding they expect is going to help the poor is actually (according to their leaders) assisting to fund jihad.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Genocide of Christians and Yazidis in the Middle East

2016 Ramadan GraphicWho is Daesh? Daesh is the jihadi group known as ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), or ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) or as the group likes to refer to itself as simply the Islamic State. Some western leaders feel using Daesh, an acronym formed from the Arabic, challenges the legitimacy of the group.

On March 17, 2016, U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry announced, “My purpose in appearing before you today is to assert that, in my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions – in what it says, what it believes, and what it does. Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities.” This announcement came after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution by a 393-0 vote condemning ISIS atrocities as genocide.

John Kerry’s statement coincides with the European Union’s resolution in February 2016 that also declares Daesh commits genocide. The term genocide is defined in Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. There are two elements of the crime of genocide:

  1. The mental element, meaning the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such” and
  2. The physical element which includes five acts:
    1. Killing member of the group
    2. Causing serous bodily or mental harm to member of the group
    3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
    4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
    5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The Islamic State or Daesh has committed all the elements of the definition above. By asserting that Daesh is guilty of genocide, the United States and European Union have a legal duty to prevent the campaign of genocide and punish those who are committing the acts of genocide.

One would think that Christians, Yazidis, and even Shia Muslims would receive preferential treatment as refugees since western state departments have recognized that these groups are being targeted for genocide by the Islamic State, yet since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, approximately 96% of the refugees from Syria that have been admitted to the United States have been Sunni Muslims. Because ISIS has its roots in a puritanical form of Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims are not threatened by genocide like the other groups.

Between January 2016 to May 2016, 2,099 Syrian refugees were admitted to the United States. That is almost as many as were admitted for the entire year of 2015. Out of the 2,099 refugees, only six are Christians and ten are Yazidis.

Prayer Point:

Pray for the Christians, Yazidis, and Shia Muslims who have been targeted by ISIS for genocide, and pray that western governments will fulfill their legal obligation to prevent the genocide of these groups.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Why Pray for Muslims During Ramadan?

2016 Ramadan GraphicRamadan, the Islamic month of fasting begins today, June 6. Ramadan, translated as “scorching heat” or “dryness”, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which began in 622 AD. Muslims believe that it was during the month of Ramadan when Muhammad first began to receive his revelations so it is considered the holiest month in Islam.

During the month of Ramadan, most Muslims will observe a fast from sunup to sundown for each of the 29 to 30 days of the month. Muslims are to abstain from smoking, drinking, eating and sexual pleasure during the daylight hours. All Muslims are required to fast when they reach puberty as long as they are sane and have no illnesses such as diabetes. It is to be a time of spiritual reflection and increased devotion to Allah, and Muslims believe the rewards for fasting during this time are multiplied.

In addiction to fasting, “according to Islamic practice, sacrifice during Ramadan can be considered more valuable than that made at other times, so a call to martyrdom during the month may hold a special allure to some,” said a report by the US State Department led Overseas Security Advisory Council. Affirming the report, in an audio message released by the Islamic State, ISIS followers are urged to commit lone wolf terror attacks during the month of Ramadan.

“Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad. Get prepared, be ready … to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers … especially for the fighters and supporters of the Caliphate in Europe and America.”

Last year during Ramadan, terror attacks occurred on three continents on the same day following a similar message by an Islamic State spokesman. On June 26, 2015, attacks occurred in France, Kuwait, Syria, Somalia and Tunisia killing 403 people and injuring 336.

It is currently estimated that there are 80,000 ISIS members worldwide with 36,000 foreign fighters recruited from 80 countries. Of the 36,000 foreign recruits, approximately 6,000 are Westerners. This past fall U.S. FBI Director James Comey warned that the FBI was investigating more than 900 ISIS suspects in all 50 states. CNN reports that in the past two years since the formation of the Islamic State, they have either conducted or inspired over 70 terrorist attacks in 20 nations killing at least 1,200 and injuring over 1,700. That number does not include attacks in Syria and Iraq.

When statistics and quotes such as these dominate Western news, it can be difficult to separate the Muslim people from the radical Islamist teachings that groups such as the Islamic State follow. In the natural the facts seem grim for the future of our world, Truth Trumps Factshowever TRUTH ALWAYS SUPERSEDES FACTS. What truth supersedes the grim facts? Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” HE supersedes the facts.

The natural, inferior reaction to facts is to be suspicious and fearful, but as Kingdom minded Christians we live in a superior realization. Christ attained the victory over sin and death…and terrorism, so as His children we walk in triumph because the victory is already won.

“Your ancestors have also been taught ‘Love your neighbors and hate the one who hates you.’ However, I say to you, love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the ones who hate you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them. For that will reveal your identity as children of your heavenly Father. He is kind to all by bringing the sunrise to warm and rainfall to refresh whether a person does what is good or evil. What reward do you deserve if you only love the loveable? Don’t even the tax collectors do that? How are you any different from others if you limit your kindness only to your friends? Don’t even the ungodly do that? Since you are children of a perfect Father in heaven, you are to be perfect like him” (Matthew 5:43-48 The Passion Translation).

During the next 30 days ask God to give you His heart for the Muslim people. Today ask Him to reveal and cleanse anything in your heart toward Muslims that is not from Him. Then join us as we pray and declare what Heaven is saying each day during this time of heightened spiritual awareness for Muslims.

bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

I am Iraqi, I am Christian

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 28As Christians and Muslims gathered in a Baghdad church on Sunday afternoon, Manhal Younis cried and said, “I can’t feel my identity as an Iraqi Christian.” The woman next to her in the pew, a Muslim, reached out to her and whispered, “You are the true original people here, and we are sorry for what has been done to you in the name of Islam.”

Approximately two hundred Muslims attended a rally in Baghdad to show their solidarity with the thousands of Christians who have been forced to flee from Mosul. Some of the Muslims marked themselves with the Arabic letter “N” for “Nazarene” or Christian. Both Muslims and Christians held up signs that read, “I am Iraqi, I am Christian.” The event had been organized through social media that day before, and following the rally an online video was posted on Facebook showing Christian and Muslim participants holding up their signs and singing the Iraqi national anthem.

A Muslim law professor, Mahmoud Al-Asali, lost his life for standing up against the abuse and murder of Christians in Mosul. ISIS militants in Mosul killed him.

Arabic-Nazarene
The Arabic letter “N” used to show solidarity with persecuted Iraqi Christians.

As the grip of the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), also known as the Islamic State has tightened, the militants demanded that all Christians in the city convert to Islam, pay the jizya (a tax for non-Muslims), leave the city, or die. Ankawa.com reported the option to pay the jizya and stay in the city was taken away so Christians were forced to either leave their homes or convert to Islam.

ISIS used the Arabic letter, “N” to tag the homes of Christians. Those fleeing Mosul described how once the group tagged their homes, then later entered the homes taking whatever they wanted and using them as ISIS property. Some families leaving Mosul were harassed and robbed of money, jewelry and documents at checkpoints set up by ISIS, and there were reports that women had crucifixes torn from their necks as they left. One man attempting to escape with his elderly mother was forced to give the militants his car and her medicine, so he carried his mother on his back to safety.

The number of Christians in Mosul had dwindled from over 30,000 in 2003 to just a few thousand, however after the ISIS threat, it is believed that one of the oldest Christian communities in the world is now completely devoid of Christians.

Since the rally on Sunday, thousands have joined together on Twitter to express their solidarity with persecuted Christians in Iraq by using the hastag, “#WeAreN.” The Church of England and others around the world are showing their support by changing their pictures on their social media pages to the Arabic “N.”

Prayer Points:

Showing solidarity brings hope to Iraqi Christians who have been forced out of their homes. Pray that Muslims in Iraq and other Middle Eastern nations will stand up and resist the evil being done to Christians in their community; people they have worked with and who were neighbors and friends.

In addition to showing solidarity, pray for these Christians and all those who are being severely persecuted in Iraq – that God will overwhelm them with His grace, meet their daily needs and give them hope.

Pray the prayer of King David found in Psalm 55:9 over ISIS (radical Islamic group persecuting the Christians and making them convert to Islam or die). “Confuse them Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and strife in the city.”