Posted on 09/30/2011 6:51:18 AM PDT by expat1000
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy in September 2010, refused to recant his faith during four court hearings held on September 25-28. He now faces an imminent verdict of the death sentence, which is expected to be issued within seven days. “They probably won’t kill him today, but they can do it whenever they want,” a source said. “Sometimes in Iran they call the family and deliver the body with the verdict.”
In July, the Supreme Court instructed the Revolutionary Tribunal of Gilan Province to review Youcef’s case to verify whether he was previously a practicing Muslim (for more information, click here). At the recent hearings, the court in Rasht ruled that Pastor Youcef was not a practicing Muslim before becoming a Christian but that he remains guilty of apostasy because of his Muslim ancestry.
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
May God bless his and take his soul into paradise.
his=him
As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness.
At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs [Europe, Australia, USA and Japan]. Six percent of US prison inmates are Muslim. Like any other minority, they won’t integrate, but work to build their own separate community.
From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. South Africa’s Muslim population is 2%, but they control 35% of the businesses, a large percentage of the banks and have five Cabinet seats while Christians (77% of the population) have none.
They will push for the introduction of halaal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves (along with threats for failure to comply).
At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia; Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world, but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.
When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. (Ei: car-burnings in France last October.) Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats.
After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning (India, Mindanao, Philippines).
At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare [Indonesia].
From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya (infidel tax). (Sudan, Kosovo, Lebanon and Egypt).
After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide [Western Papua (New Guinea), Iran, Biafra, Asia-Minor-Turkey,Egypt, Iraq,Lebanon and North Nigeria],ETC., ETC..
100% will usher in the peace of “Dar-es-Salaam” - House
We managed to save the worthless hikers but we can’t stop the execution of a man for being a Christian?
Is there any wonder why some Iranians won’t be happy until they see the Mullahs hanging from the lampposts of Tehran’s main Ave.? (Rhet.)
Alex Baldwin is fighting for him non stop
Not
This breaks my heart.
Ahmadinejad, you can stop this.
I called Ben Nelson’s office & am so mad. I told them I sent emails and other people have called & wanted to know if he called Obama....anything. No, he did not but she will verify if they rec’d my email. I told her that he is going to be executed today. He needs to call Obama NOW & make a statement NOW. She said he can’t do that. I said he can call Obama right now if he cared or he could call a press conference and make a statement that might awaken people/politicians. She started to argue with me that he is busy and out of town and.....
I agree 100%.
We should make it clear that if they do this we (the west) will lock up Iran’s trade so they can’t get anything, including gasoline.
“an Iranian pastor”
Tells me that he is;
A) not a U.S. citizen and
B) Would die rather than renounce Christ.
I admire him. I will pray for him. But since I have not yet seen that he is an American, I don’t believe that any American blood, sweat or treasure should be spent trying to save him from his countrymen.
Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death: Attorney Hopeful of Acquittal
September 30, 2011 8:49 AM EDT
The attorney for an Iranian Christian pastor who is facing the death penalty for the crime of apostasy said he is optimistic his client will be acquitted and freed.
Youcef Naderkhani has refused to renounce his Christian faith in a case that has sparked global fury against Iran and appeals for clemency.
According to a report in BBC, Naderkhani’s lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, said there was a 95 percent chance he will be freed.
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner also has already spoken out against Iran.
“While Iran’s government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith. This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity. I urge Iran’s leaders to abandon this dark path, spare [Nadarkhani’s] life, and grant him a full and unconditional release,” said Boehner.
Naderkhani, 32, reportedly was born Muslim and converted to Christianity at the age of 19. He became a pastor of a 400-person Church of Iran congregation in the northern city of Rasht.
He was arrested two years ago and sentenced to death in 2010 by a court of appeals. His crime was apostasy, or abandoning his Muslim faith.
Iran’s Supreme Court said Naderkhani could be freed if he renounced his Christian religion.
The Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester, told BBC: “As a Christian I can’t do that [refute my faith]. In a much lesser way I have faced these questions myself, and I would ask for myself for strength in this situation and courage, and that is what I would ask for him. But at the same time to ask that understanding and compassion and clemency be exercised by those who are in authority.”
Nazir-Ali sad Iranians are likely concerned about the growth of Christianity in the country and may want to make an example of Naderhkani.
He added that the death penalty has not been imposed in Iran in such a case since 1990.
Before his last hearing Wednesday, Nadarkhani had been given three previous chances to repent, and all three times he has refused. After his final refusal Wednesday, no verdict has been announced, but many expect that he could be put to death as soon as Friday.
Even if the sentence were commuted, Nadarkhani could still face life in prison. And even if he were released, there would still be danger.
“In Iran about 18 years ago, they had released a pastor, but then came and assassinated him and his bishop later. We cannot stop the pressure,” Pastor Firouz Sadegh-Khandjani, a Member of the Council of Elders for the Church of Iran, told the American Center for Law and Justice.
Between June 2010 and January 2011, more than 200 people in Iran were arrested for their religious beliefs, according to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based church with ties to Iran.
In August, a pastor named Haghnejad was arrested for the third time, according to Christian Solidarity. Police also confiscated 6,500 bibles, which Iran’s social issues committee deemed were being used to deceive youths.
O Lord, hear our prayers for our brother in dire trouble, Yousef. When Joseph of old was put in the hands of the enemy, you delivered him according to your will and he was able to provide for his people in a time of great famine. You have called this Yousef and we ask to please deliver him from the hands of his enemies. I pray that you would raise him up to deliver the precious persian people in their time of spiritual famine. They need to hear the good news, liberty and salvation in Christ. Let the prison doors be opened. We pray the plans of the adversary are broken and come to nothing. There is power in your spirit and we call on you in the name of Jesus. Please hear our prayer. We trust You and You alone.
What a wonderful religion Islam is. </sarcasm>
Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, “Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;”
Polycarp declared, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?
[...]
But again the proconsul said to him, “I will cause thee to be consumed by fire, seeing thou despisest the wild beasts, if thou wilt not repent.”
But Polycarp said, “Thou threatenest me with fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but art ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why tarriest thou? BRING FORTH WHAT THOU WILT.”
Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, 155AD
I’m sure NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN & FOX have gone wall to wall with this.
If this man dies, believers in Islamic countries will be emboldened, and many watching Muslims will be moved by his martyrdom.
The Mullahs will end up poking themselves in the eye doing stuff like this.
I doubt if Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is concerned about being “saved” by the United States.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani’s actions shows that he is more concerned about being saved by Christ.
I pray that he and his family finds strength in our Lord.
“He that shall lose his life for Me, shall find it.” (Matt. 10:39)
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