An Update On Punjab and Kashmir

An Update On Punjab and Kashmir
9/15/2010



Dear Pastor Jack & Kathryn,


An update regarding the Muslim violence in the state of Punjab and elsewhere following false reports of a Koran burning in Florida:

Praise God for compromise talks held in Maner Kotla, 40 kilometers from Ludhiana. These talks involved IGO's ministry director for Punjab Pastor K. Koshy and various other Christian leaders with the Imam, Mullahs (Muslim priests) and Muslim business leaders, plus government officials.



The Muslim business people agreed to repair and rebuild the church that was burned and replace the furniture.

The general curfew was lifted yesterday, although night curfews continue in Ludhiana and Maner Kotla and other locations.



Pray for the unstable situation in Kashmir. According to Pastor Koshy and the newspaper reports in India, Muslims in Kashmir also watched the news on Iranian television which falsely reported the Quran was burned on 9-11 in Florida. Muslim mobs went on a rampage through Christian neighborhoods, destroying homes, churches and Christian schools in retaliation for burning their holy book.

On Sunday, they burned a Christian school in Gulmarg, near Srinagar, killing 18 people including seven children. They declared they will kill every Christian in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir. As a result, Christians throughout northern Kashmir are in hiding, and many Christians who were able have fled Srinagar to find refuge in Jammu, about 120 miles to the south.

Because of the curfew and tension, there are presently no more buses leaving Srinagar, so the Christians no longer have a way to escape or go out on the market to buy food and other necessities for fear of death.

There is a radical terrorist element supported by Pakistan in Kashmir always looking for any reason to cause problems and instability if they think it will further their cause. So pray for the Christians in Kashmir, especially those who are stuck in Srinagar. Pray for our evangelists and believers safety.



On another note for prayer:



September 24 is an important day as India's Supreme Court will announce the decision regarding the Babri Masjid mosque. For some background: on 6 December 1992, the Babri Masjid mosque was destroyed by a large group of Hindus in retaliation for the destruction of their own temple on that site more than 500 years earlier. Built in the 15th century, the mosque was located at what is believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu god, Lord Rama. Destruction of the Muslim mosque triggered Hindu-Muslim riots in different places in India that killed many, many people.



So this is a deep festering wound that has continued in India for over five centuries as both sides claim possession of what they both regard as a sacred site to both religions. In India, memories are long. However the Supreme Court rules, someone is bound to be unhappy. Pray that God will restrain the emotions of fanatics on both sides.



Pray that God will work through this tragic and needless situation to bring people to the truth that lies only in the one who declared,"I am the Way,the Truth and the Life"-- Jesus Christ.




Thank you for praying.





Blessings in Christ,



T. Valson Abraham