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 2017 Ramadan Prayer

The Qur’anic Justification for Terrorism

BCN Fruit Root Terrorism Ramadan 2017.jpg

The majority of Muslims are peaceful, and just as there are many denominations in Christianity, there are many schools of thought within Islam.

However, Islamists and terrorist groups are able to justify their actions based on their interpretation of the Qur’an and the example of Muhammad.

These are a few of the passages in the Qur’an that not only have been used in the past to support violence, but are being used today.  The RelgionofPeace.com reports that the Qur’an contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Answering Islam gives a list of some of the most prominent passages. Here are a few:

2:190-191 “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you…And kill them wherever you overtake them. Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknoledged to be] for Allah.”

4:101 “… The disbelievers are ever to you a clear enemy.”

4:74 “So let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter. And he who fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or achieves victory – We will bestow on him a great reward.”

9:29 “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizyah (religious tax) willingly while they are humbled.”

Unlike the Old Testament of the Bible, which does contain passages that are violent, the Qur’anic passages are open-ended which means they can be applied to situations today whereas the Old Testament passages address a specific historical event. Further, Christians who commit acts of violence are betraying the teachings and example of Jesus.

The Qur’an of Islam supports violence against those who do not follow their religion. Based upon the teachings, the violent believe they are doing the service of Allah. However, Almighty God, through Jesus Christ, is a God of love, and He loves every human being and we were all created in His image.

Pray that Muslims will receive a revealtion of the Almighty God of love and be drawn to know the one who died for their sins, the Lord Jesus Christ.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

The Jayvee Team Strikes Again

2016 Ramadan GraphicDuring the 2012 U.S. Presidential campaign, President Obama announced at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, “Al-Qaeda has been ‘decimated.’” A little over a year later, after ISIS had captured Fallujah, a reporter from The New Yorker pointed out that the flag of Al-Qaeda was flying over the Iraqi city. Obama responded, “The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant…I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.”

Following the Orlando terror attack in June, President Obama’s administration was criticized for a failure to use the term “radical Islam.” The President said, “What exactly would using this label accomplish? What exactly would it change? Would it make ISIS less committed to trying to kill Americans? Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is none of the above. Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away. This is a political distraction.”

An editorial in the New York Post explains why it is important to use the term radical Islamic terror rather than simply terror: “…using the word “terror” without a limiting and defining adjective is like a doctor calling a disease ‘cancer’ without making note of the affected area of the body — because if he doesn’t know where the cancer is and what form it takes, he cannot attack it effectively and seek to extirpate it.”

Part of the problem is that Western leaders fail to acknowledge the ideology behind the terror attacks. In 2014 the United Arab Emirates issued a list of 83 Islamists groups, which it classified as “terrorist organizations.” The U.S. Secretary of State lists 60 groups designated “foreign terrorist organizations” with the majority (approximately 48) Islamist groups.

Yesterday, at least 41 people were killed and 239 injured when suicide bombers attacked Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in Turkey. As of now Turkish authorities believe ISIS is behind the attack. Today is the 24th day of the 30 days of Ramadan. So far there have been 175 Islamic terror attacks with 122 people killed according to The Religion of Peace website tracks which Islamic attacks around the world. This number does not include the attacks from yesterday.

Muslims believe the rewards for fasting during Ramadan are multiplied. In addition 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 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” (ISIS audio message).

Prayer Point:

Pray world leaders will recognize that in order to defeat Islamic terrorism, they must be willing to name and recognize the ideology behind the attacks and that God will reveal the motives behind any organization hiding their true intentions.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Orlando Terror Attack Motive

2016 Ramadan GraphicFollowing an attack like the one at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, news outlets attempt to figure out a motive for such a horrendous act. One of the trends that has emerged in this case is to attempt to turn the perpetrator, Omar Mateen into a victim by claiming that he was gay. The thought is Mateen “might not have been driven by his political and religious ideology at all, but by his suppressed homosexuality.”

All radical Muslims are victims of an evil political ideology disguised as a religion so in that respect Mateen was a victim. Was his motivation due to homosexuality? Perhaps, but even if as a Muslim he was gay, Islamic teachings regarding martyrdom absolve him of “the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deed” as homosexuality was described by a Muslim religious scholar.

In Islam humans will be judged according to their deeds. Those with more good deeds go to Paradise where they will enjoy spiritual and physical pleasures forever. Those with more bad deeds are condemned to eternity in hell. Those who are slain in the cause of Allah (martyrs) go to Paradise. The hadith states, “The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: ‘All the sins of a Shahid (martyr) are forgiven except debt” (Muslim 20:4649). Even if Mateen’s motive was somehow a result of feelings of guilt about being homosexual, in Islamic teachings dying as an Islamic martyr guarantees forgiveness and Paradise for him.

FBI Director James Comey said, “We are working to understand what role anti-gay bigotry may have played in motivating this attack, but we are highly confident that this killer was radicalized and at least in some part through the internet.”

Mateen pledged his allegiance to ISIS on Facebook on the morning of the attack before buying ammunition with his wife. He made two trips to Saudi Arabia – one in 2011 and the other in 2012. “Based on his blatant extremism and ties to a convicted Orlando imam known for facilitating international jihadists traveling, the strong likelihood is that these trips were not benign,” said Ryan Mauro, national security analyst for the Clarion Project. His 911 calls during the attack also indicate his ties to terrorism.

Regardless of Mateen’s motivation, 49 innocent people died in an attack that was, by the perpetrator’s own admission, inspired by Islamic teachings.

Prayer Point:

Pray that the eyes of the leaders of western nations will be open to the danger that radical Islam brings to the West, and that the tendency to try and understand Mateen’s motivation will not dilute the urgency of the threat of radical Islam.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Speak Truth in Love

2016 Ramadan GraphicIn an attempt to debunk the statement, “Islam teaches Muslims to kill Christians and Jews,” a popular Christian website states, “There is not a single command in the Qur’an for Muslims to go out and kill Christians or Jews.”

Unless the author of the article on the Christian website believes you can have a war without any casualties, this statement is misleading because it ignores passages in the Qur’an such as sura 9:29 which says, “Make war on those who have received the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] but do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day. They do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The Christians and Jews do not follow the religion of truth until they submit and pay the poll tax [jizya] and they are humiliated.”

The Reliance of the Traveller, a classic manual of Islamic Sacred Law, is a foundational theological manual. Al-Azhar University, known as Sunni Islam’s most prestigious university, certifies that the Reliance of the Traveller “conforms to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni Community” (Reliance, p. xx).

The manual explains sura 9:29: “The Caliph makes war upon the Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax Jizya…– while remaining in their ancestral religions (and the war continues) until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax in accordance with the word of Allah Most High” (Reliance o9.8, p. 602).

As ISIS captured Christian areas in Iraq and Syria, residents were forced to “convert or die.” In a few areas, Christians were given the opportunity to pay the poll tax, however ISIS leaders increased the amount of the tax to an amount that made it impossible to pay so many Christians were forced to flee their homes. In October 2015, Assyrian Christian business owners living in Sweden found the “convert or die” message on the walls of their businesses. The graffiti also included the message: “The Caliphate is here,” along with the ISIS logo. It is reported that the Swedish city of Gothenburg where the graffiti was found has had at least 150 people leave the city to join ISIS.

Recent history demonstrates widespread persecution against Christians. TheReligionofPeace.com has a list of targeted acts of terrorism on Christians by Muslims since September 11, 2001. In the last five years (since January 1, 2011) there have been 7,420 Christians killed and another 7,754 injured in jihadi attacks. This list is of those that have been identified specifically as Christians and according to the website, it is not a complete account of Islamic terror attacks on Christians since much of the violence against Christians goes unreported, and often the victims of Islamic terror are not identified as Christians.

Overall during the same five-year time period there have been 14,203 Islamic terror attacks in which 107,857 people have been killed and 132,433 injured.Speak Truth in Love

Christians should be aware of the teachings of Islam – not to invoke fear, but to understand why Islamists feel compelled to conquer other religions. Love for Muslims comes from God’s heart to Christians. To misrepresent the teachings of Islam denies truth.

Prayer Point:

The word of God tells us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Pray that Christians will be informed regarding their own faith and be able to speak the truth about Islam to receptive hearts.

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

The Australian Jihadist Cheerleader

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 25There are two emerging Islamic religious figures from the West that have become especially popular with foreign fighters that have joined the rebel forces in the Syrian civil war. These two Westerners, American Ahmad Musa Jibril and Australian Musa Cerantonio, are popular with Western and European jihadists on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These foreign fighters look to these men for guidance and inspiration.

Yesterday we looked at Ahmad Musa Jibril, an American cleric from Dearborn, Michigan. Australian Musa Cerantonio was born into an Italian Catholic family as Robert Cerantonio. He claims he converted to Islam after a visit to the Vatican left him disillusioned with Catholicism. After his conversion he traveled to study Islam in Cairo. His status as a Western convert helped him to become popular on Islamic satellite television programs, which gave Cerantonio a global audience.

His most popular platform, other than his television programs, was Facebook. At times, he was critical of the terrorist group, ISIS, but he also referred to the group “as the best forces on the ground in Syria.” Cerantonio called for war against the United States. “If we see that Muslims are being killed by the tyrant leaders of the USA then we must first stop them with our hands (i.e. by force). This means that we should stop them by fighting them, by assassinating their oppressive leaders, by weakening their offensive capabilities etc. …This is not something that is beyond us at all.”Musa Cerantonio Facebook

Cerantonio’s Facebook page was eventually taken down, but at the time it was removed he had about 12,000 subscribers. He used Twitter account earlier this month to announce that he was traveling to Syria. After he tweeted that he had arrived in the Middle East to join with the terror group, ISIS, he was actually discovered to have been living in the Philippines for about a year.

Australian authorities cancelled his Australian passport, which left him without proper travel documentation so he was arrested and is to be deported to Australia. There is now a Facebook page calling for his release that has more than 1,500 “likes.” There are no warrants for his arrest in Australia so he will probably be allowed to go free when he arrives.

Ahmad Musa Jibril and Musa Cerantonio have had much influence on the number of foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war. Their styles are different, but rather than competing for followers they have appealed to their audiences in different ways. This combination has encouraged their followers to consider fighting in Syria as honorable.

Prayer Points:

Ask God to give His wisdom and insight to counter-intelligence and counterterrorism organizations to enable them to have the information needed to stop or arrest those involved in recruiting others to becoming militant.

Social media has been used to encourage Westerners to join in the Syrian civil war. Pray that Western authorities will identify those who are inspiring others to jihad and terrorism and recognize legal ways to stop them from furthering their cause.

Jihadists are very successful in utilizing social media to spread a message of hate – pray the Holy Spirit will guide Christians and Christian ministries in ways to use this powerful tool to spread the message of the Kingdom of God. Declare His Lordship over all forms of social media!

bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

Islamic Casualties

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 21Terrorism is once again in the headlines as news spread after a missile downed a Malaysian Airlines jet, killing all of the 298 people on board. In this particular case experts believe those responsible are most likely Pro-Russian separatists.

However, acts and threats of terror attacks happen almost daily. The website, The Religion of Peace has been keeping a record of Islamic attacks around the world since 9-11-2001. Since that date, the website has documented 23,418 attacks by Islamists.

The following chart shows the number of people killed or injured in attacks since January 1, 2010. These attacks range from acts of terror involving multiple casualties to acts of honor violence.

Islamic Casualties from 1-2010 to 7-2014
Country/Territory Killed Injured
Iraq 18,072 40,688
Nigeria 8,948 6,284
Pakistan 8,887 14,779
Afghanistan 6,061 8,398
Syria 5,200 6,091
Yemen 2,473 2,451
Somalia 1,836 3,124
Thailand 1,151 2,085
Egypt 508 2,270
Kenya 421 1,001
Dagestan 391 631
Lebanon 366 2,459
India 354 759
Philippines 329 735
Algeria 266 348
Russia 215 671
Libya 175 334
China 169 446
Sudan 164 219
Central African Republic 136 84
Iran 122 176
Bangladesh 102 934
Uganda 80 66
Mali 69 86
Turkey 64 111
Ingushetia 62 125
Indonesia 57 372
Israel 57 250
Democratic Republic of the Congo 55 33
Chechnya 49 106
Tunisia 42 68
Tajikistan 40 56
Ethiopia 35 68
South Sudan 28 54
Myanmar 28 12
Kazakhstan 21 3
Palestinian Authority 20 48
United States 19 272
Morocco 17 23
Saudi Arabia 16 35
Cameroon 16 16
Jordan 15 56
South Africa 14 0
Brazil 12 20
Tanzania 9 77
Bahrain 9 14
France 8 35
Bulgaria 7 31
Belgium 5 3
Malaysia 5 3
Macedonia 5 0
Germany 4 40
Liberia 4 23
Kosovo 4 12
Oman 4 0
United Kingdom 3 7
Azerbaijan 3 3
Georgia 3 0
Turkmenistan 3 0
Italy 2 2
Somalia 2 2
Sweden 2 2
Mexico 2 0
Switzerland 2 0
Ukraine 2 0
Djibouti 1 15
Bosnia 1 7
Abkhazia 1 2
Maldives 1 2
Sir Lanka 1 2
Canada 1 1
Ghana 1 0
Kuwait 1 0
Mauritania 1 0
Netherlands 1 0
Ghana 1 0
Senegal 0 24
Norway 0 6
Total 57,261 97,160

Because Islamic violence and terrorism have become somewhat commonplace in our world today, many of us have become desensitized to the news of yet another act of violence or terror attack unless it involves a large group of people at once like the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

In the past three days, there have been 85 people killed in six separate attacks by Islamic terrorists in Iraq, Tunisia and Nigeria. Statistically 35 people a day have died in attacks by Islamists since January of 2010, many of whom are Christians. Although most attacks have occurred in nations such as Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen, there are 78 nations plus Palestine that have experienced acts of terror since 2010. Although as Westerners we typically think of acts of Islamic terrorism as being directed against non-Muslims, the vast majority of those killed and injured in Islamic acts of terror are actually Muslim.

Prayer Points:

Authorities have stopped countless terror attacks, and many attacks have simply failed due to the grace and love of God. Thank God for His protection, His wisdom for law enforcement officers, and for raising up intercessors whose prayers have often been instrumental in helping thwart terror attempts.

As we see from this list, there are nations who are experiencing consistent attacks on a daily basis. Remember the families of those who have been killed or injured by acts of terrorism and pray that God will minister His love, comfort and peace to their hearts.

The majority of Muslims do not want to have anything to do with terrorism and because of the violence in their religion they are turning away. Pray for them – that God will soften and prepare their hearts for truth. Ask the Lord to send Christians to them who can become a friend and reveal the love that Jesus Christ has for them.