IT IS WRITTEN :
19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Matthew 5:43-46)
14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 17Recompense to no man evil for evil….. Romans 12
Nigeria Christians 'to defend churches from Boko Haram'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16350635
28 December 2011 Last updated at 23:57 GMT
Nigerian Christians will have "no other option" but to defend themselves if attacks by Islamist militants continue, church leaders have said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria said the Boko Haram group had declared war with its recent violence.
More than 40 people were killed in attacks on churches in northern and central areas on Christmas Day.
Since then, some 90,000 people have fled their homes amid clashes between Boko Haram and police in Damaturu.
Earlier on Wednesday, six children and an adult were injured when a homemade bomb was thrown into an Islamic school in the southern Delta state.
A police spokesman said the bomb had been thrown from a moving car - it was not clear who was behind the attack, which has raised fears of retaliatory vigilante strikes.
BBC Africa correspondent Karen Allen says Africa's most populous nation and biggest oil producer faces the spectre of sectarian violence between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south.
Muslim leaders have, however, moved to downplay the prospect of communal clashes.
'Declaration of war'
"The consensus is that the Christian community nationwide will be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and property," said the leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella group of the country's churches.
Boko Haram: Timeline of terror
• 2002: Founded
• 2009: Hundreds killed when Maiduguri police stations stormed
• 2009: Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf captured by army, handed to police, later found dead
• Sep 2010: Freed hundreds of prisoners from Maiduguri jail
• Dec 2010: Bombed Jos, killing 80; blamed for New Year's Eve attack on Abuja barracks
• 2010-2011: Dozens killed in Maiduguri shootings
• Nov 2011: Co-ordinated bomb and gun attacks in Yobe and Borno states
• Dec 2011: Series of bomb attacks on Christmas Day kills dozens
•
Ayo Oritsejafor was speaking at the St Theresa Church outside the capital, Abuja, where 35 people died in the Christmas Day bombings, the AFP news agency reports.
He said the attacks were "considered as a declaration of war on Christians and Nigeria as an entity," and that while he did not want to encourage acts of revenge, "Christians should protect themselves... in any way they can".
Mr Oritsejafor said the lack of response by Muslim leaders was an "abdication of their responsibilities", and that the Christian community was also "fast losing confidence in government's ability to protect our rights".
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is a Christian, has held urgent meetings with Muslim and Christian leaders in an attempt to restore calm.
On Tuesday, Nigeria's main Muslim cleric, the Sultan of Sokoto, denounced the Christmas Day attacks and called for calm.
"I want to assure all Nigerians that there is no conflict between Muslims and Christians, between Islam and Christianity," said Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar.
Boko Haram, which denies reports it has links to al-Qaeda, has said it carried out the Christmas Day attacks.
Last week, its militants were involved in heavy gun battles with government troops in the north-eastern city of Damaturu.
A state emergency management official said the clashes had displaced 90,000 people and that the entire district of Pompomari had been emptied as residents fled.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", wants the imposition of strict Sharia law in Nigeria.
The group carried out an August 2011 suicide attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja, in which more than 20 people were killed.
It was also responsible for a string of bomb blasts in the central city of Jos on Christmas Eve 2010.
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13809501
By Farouk Chothia BBC African Service
29 December 2011 Last updated at 09:51 GMT
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram - which has caused havoc in Africa's most populous country through a wave of bombings - is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors".
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed after his arrest
The group's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".
But residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram.
Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means "Western education is forbidden".
Boko originally means fake but came to signify Western education, while haram means forbidden.
Since the Sokoto caliphate, which ruled parts of what is now northern Nigeria, Niger and southern Cameroon, fell under British control in 1903, there has been resistance among the area's Muslims to Western education.
Many Muslim families still refuse to send their children to government-run "Western schools", a problem compounded by the ruling elite which does not see education as a priority.
Audacious
Against this background, the charismatic Muslim cleric, Mohammed Yusuf, formed Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002. He set up a religious complex, which included a mosque and an Islamic school.
Many poor Muslim families from across Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries, enrolled their children at the school.
But Boko Haram was not only interested in education. Its political goal was to create an Islamic state, and the school became a recruiting ground for jihadis to fight the state.
In 2009, Boko Haram carried out a spate of attacks on police stations and other government buildings in Maiduguri.
This led to shoot-outs on Maiduguri's streets. Hundreds of Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled the city.
Nigeria's security forces eventually seized the group's headquarters, capturing its fighters and killing Mr Yusuf.
His body was shown on state television and the security forces declared Boko Haram finished.
But its fighters have regrouped under a new leader and in 2010, they attacked a prison in Maiduguri, freeing hundreds of the group's supporters.
Boko Haram's trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim traditions and a Christian preacher.
The group has also staged several more audacious attacks in different parts of northern Nigeria, showing that it is establishing a presence across the region and fuelling tension between Muslims and Christians.
These reportedly include the 2011 Christmas Day bombings on the outskirts of Abuja and in the north-eastern city of Damaturu, a 2010 New Year's Eve attack on a military barracks in Abuja, several explosions around the time of President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration in May 2011, followed by the bombing of the police headquarters and the UN headquarters in Abuja.
The attacks have raised global concern, with a US Congressional report - released in November 2011 - warning that Boko Haram was an "emerging threat" to the US and its interests.
The report said Boko Haram may be forging ties with al-Qaeda-linked groups in Africa, but the group denies this.
Analysts say northern Nigeria has a history of spawning groups similar to Boko Haram.
The threat will disappear only if the Nigerian government manages to reduce the region's chronic poverty and builds an education system which gains the support of local Muslims, the analysts say.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Anglicans Joining Catholic Church: Not Much Will Change
Anglicans Joining Catholic Church: Not Much Will Change
By Michael Gryboski | Christian Post Reporter
The Christian Post > World|Wed, Dec. 28 2011 01:07 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/anglicans-joining-catholic-church-not-much-will-change-65935/
As the Jan. 1, 2012 date given for the creation of a Roman Catholic Ordinariate, or church body, for disaffected Anglicans draws near, some departing churches say they do not expect significant differences in their worship and practice.
An ordinariate is a geographical region similar to a diocese except that it is national in scope. They are headed by an “ordinary,” which can be a bishop or a priest.
Some congregations that have severed their ties with the Episcopal Church have petitioned the pope to become part of the Catholic Church, under the condition that they retain elements of Anglican tradition, also known as “Anglican Patrimony.”
Bishop Louise Campese of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Orlando, Fla., who also serves as Bishop Ordinary for Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family, said that even though all changes had not been decided for his congregation, he believes there will not be extensive changes.
“There are going to be some changes, but not something foreign to the Anglican Patrimony,” said Campese, who added that he had “no more information than that at this time.”
Even before voting to join the Roman Catholic Church, Campese’s congregation considered itself Anglo-Catholic, which is a part of the Anglican Communion that has Catholic-like rituals and worship practices.
Back in 2007, the Cathedral of the Incarnation was one of many Anglican churches that, as part of a conservative group called the Traditional Anglican Communion, decided to adopt the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
“We at the Cathedral have been using the Catechism for our Adult Forums, each week, for the past three plus years and our folks are very well informed and adhere to the teachings therein,” said Campese.
Father Mark Lewis of St. Luke’s Parish of Bladensburg, Maryland, told a similar story of minor changes for his congregation as they prepare for entering the Ordinariate.
“Not much changed. As an Anglo-Catholic parish we accepted, with few exceptions, all the Catholic Church taught,” said Lewis.
Lewis also said that as his church began the process to become part of the Catholic Church they “ceased using the Anglican Service Book for our worship and began using the Book of Divine Worship.”
“The Book of Divine Worship is the Vatican approved liturgical book used by Anglican Use Parishes in the United States,” said Lewis.
Together Again
The Anglican Church was created back in the 16th century when King Henry VIII of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church after being denied an annulment from his first marriage. Initially identical in doctrine and practice, gradually the two became different as the Anglican Church adopted the Book of Common Prayer.
Churches within the Anglican Communion would eventually differentiate themselves via the term “high church” and “low church.” A “high church” congregation is one that focuses more on liturgy and ritual whereas a “low church” congregation is more contemporary in its practices.
Nearly five centuries later, traditional churches once belonging to the Anglican Communion have found themselves at odds with their denomination’s ordination of women and growing tolerance for homosexuality.
While many Anglican Churches decided to break away and form their own conservative sects, some have decided to return to the very church tradition their denomination broke away from back in the days of the Tudor Monarchs.
The first ordinariate, Our Lady of Walsingham, was established for Anglicans in England and Wales on Jan. 15 of this year. Other ordinariates are being considered for Australia and Canada.
By Michael Gryboski | Christian Post Reporter
The Christian Post > World|Wed, Dec. 28 2011 01:07 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/anglicans-joining-catholic-church-not-much-will-change-65935/
As the Jan. 1, 2012 date given for the creation of a Roman Catholic Ordinariate, or church body, for disaffected Anglicans draws near, some departing churches say they do not expect significant differences in their worship and practice.
An ordinariate is a geographical region similar to a diocese except that it is national in scope. They are headed by an “ordinary,” which can be a bishop or a priest.
Some congregations that have severed their ties with the Episcopal Church have petitioned the pope to become part of the Catholic Church, under the condition that they retain elements of Anglican tradition, also known as “Anglican Patrimony.”
Bishop Louise Campese of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Orlando, Fla., who also serves as Bishop Ordinary for Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family, said that even though all changes had not been decided for his congregation, he believes there will not be extensive changes.
“There are going to be some changes, but not something foreign to the Anglican Patrimony,” said Campese, who added that he had “no more information than that at this time.”
Even before voting to join the Roman Catholic Church, Campese’s congregation considered itself Anglo-Catholic, which is a part of the Anglican Communion that has Catholic-like rituals and worship practices.
Back in 2007, the Cathedral of the Incarnation was one of many Anglican churches that, as part of a conservative group called the Traditional Anglican Communion, decided to adopt the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
“We at the Cathedral have been using the Catechism for our Adult Forums, each week, for the past three plus years and our folks are very well informed and adhere to the teachings therein,” said Campese.
Father Mark Lewis of St. Luke’s Parish of Bladensburg, Maryland, told a similar story of minor changes for his congregation as they prepare for entering the Ordinariate.
“Not much changed. As an Anglo-Catholic parish we accepted, with few exceptions, all the Catholic Church taught,” said Lewis.
Lewis also said that as his church began the process to become part of the Catholic Church they “ceased using the Anglican Service Book for our worship and began using the Book of Divine Worship.”
“The Book of Divine Worship is the Vatican approved liturgical book used by Anglican Use Parishes in the United States,” said Lewis.
Together Again
The Anglican Church was created back in the 16th century when King Henry VIII of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church after being denied an annulment from his first marriage. Initially identical in doctrine and practice, gradually the two became different as the Anglican Church adopted the Book of Common Prayer.
Churches within the Anglican Communion would eventually differentiate themselves via the term “high church” and “low church.” A “high church” congregation is one that focuses more on liturgy and ritual whereas a “low church” congregation is more contemporary in its practices.
Nearly five centuries later, traditional churches once belonging to the Anglican Communion have found themselves at odds with their denomination’s ordination of women and growing tolerance for homosexuality.
While many Anglican Churches decided to break away and form their own conservative sects, some have decided to return to the very church tradition their denomination broke away from back in the days of the Tudor Monarchs.
The first ordinariate, Our Lady of Walsingham, was established for Anglicans in England and Wales on Jan. 15 of this year. Other ordinariates are being considered for Australia and Canada.
Western Media passionately narrates Pastor Mulinde’s Acid attach
Muslim Extremists in Uganda Throw Acid on Bishop
Burns threaten eyesight of church leader who opposed Islamic courts.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-extremists-in-uganda-throw-acid-on-bishop-65903/
The Christian Post > World|Wed, Dec. 28 2011 01:07 PM EDT
By Compass Direct News
KAMPALA, Uganda – Islamic extremists threw acid on a church leader on Christmas Eve shortly after a seven-day revival at his church, leaving him with severe burns that have blinded one eye and threaten sight in the other.
Bishop Umar Mulinde, 37, a sheikh (Islamic teacher) before his conversion to Christianity, was attacked on Saturday night (Dec. 24) outside his Gospel Life Church International building in Namasuba, about 10 kilometers (six miles) outside of Kampala. From his hospital bed in Kampala, he told Compass that he was on his way back to the site for a party with the entire congregation and hundreds of new converts to Christianity when a man who claimed to be a Christian approached him.
“I heard him say in a loud voice, ‘Pastor, pastor,’ and as I made a turn and looked at him, he poured the liquid onto my face as others poured more liquid on my back and then fled away shouting, ‘Allahu akbar [God is greater],’” Mulinde said, still visibly traumatized two days after the assault.
A neighbor and church members rushed him to a hospital in the Mengo area of Kampala, and he was then transferred to International Hospital Kampala.
“I have to continue fighting this pain – it is too much,” Mulinde said. “My entire body is in pain. Most of the night I miss sleep.”
His face, neck and arms bore deep black scars from the acid, and his lips were swollen.
“The burn caused by the acid is so severe that there is an urgent need for specialized treatment,” said area Christian Musa Baluku Symutsangira. “I suggest that he be flown outside the country as soon as possible; otherwise Mulinde might lose both of his eyes, coupled with the spread of the burns. The burns seemed to spread and go very deep. He might need some plastic surgery.”
A doctor told Compass that acid burns cover about 30 percent of his face and has cost him sight in one eye.
“We are doing all we can to save his other remaining eye and to contain the acid from spreading to other parts of the body,” the doctor said.
Mulinde’s shirt, tie and suit were in tatters after the attack.
Mulinde said his father, Id Wasswa, was a local prayer leader or imam.
“I was born into a Muslim family, and although I decided to become a Christian, I have been financially assisting many Muslims, as well as my relatives who are Muslims,” he said. “I have been conducting a peaceful evangelism campaign.”
Mulinde said Muslim extremists opposed to his conversion from Islam and his outspoken opposition of sharia (Islamic law) courts in Uganda, known in East Africa as Kadhi courts, attacked him. On Oct. 15, area Muslim leaders declared a fatwa against him demanding his death.
“I have been receiving several threats for a long time, and this last one is the worst of all,” Mulinde said. “I have bore the marks of Jesus.”
Mulinde is known for debates locally and internationally in which he often challenges Muslims regarding their religion. His extensive knowledge and quotation of the Quran in his preaching has won him enemies and friends. Often criticizing Islam, he has relied on police protection during revival campaigns throughout Uganda.
“Mulinde poses a big threat to those who cannot take the challenge as he engages the Muslims in debate,” said Dr. Joseph Serwadda, an area church leader.
A church guard who was away on the day of the attack said he felt responsible.
“I feel bad,” he said. “I feel I have failed in my duty as a guard.”
Mulinde is married and has six children ages 14, 12, 8, 6 and twins who are 3.
Police have reportedly arrested one suspect, whom they have declined to name. A divisional commander at Katwa police station identified only as Kateebe would say only that an investigation was underway.
The hospital charges 350,000 Uganda shillings (US$140 dollars) per day, a steep amount in Uganda.
“We appeal for our brothers and sisters wherever they are to assist the life of Bishop Umar Mulinde,” said Symutsangira.
Several Attacks
Mulinde, who lives and pastors in Namasuba outside of Kampala, in April led religious leaders in petitioning the Ugandan Parliament to refrain from amending the constitution to introduce Kadhi courts.
He collected 360,000 signatures from former Muslims who have converted to Christianity, he said, and managed to temporarily stop parliament from proposing the constitutional change. When Compass met with Mulinde in November, however, he said there was new momentum to revive the Kadhi courts issue.
In May he was attacked by suspected Muslim extremists after a series of campaigns against Kadhi courts in Namasuba. After presenting his case against the Kadhi courts, he narrowly escaped a kidnap attempt when his vehicle was blocked at eight kilometers (five miles) outside of Kampala at Ndege, two kilometers from his home in Namasuba. Muslim extremists jumped out of the vehicle and shot at the fleeing Mulinde but missed him. He reported the case at the Katwa police station.
Mulinde has faced several injuries and attacks from Muslims since his conversion to Christianity in 1993, including having stones thrown at him after debates in 1998 and 2002.
After Kenya maintained Kadhi courts in its new constitution last year, the attorney general of Uganda wanted to insert Kadhi courts – which presumably would deal only with marriage and family issues for Muslims – into the Ugandan constitution. But Mulinde argued that there would be two judicial systems governing one country.
“If Muslims who convert to Christianity are facing persecution from the Muslims now, then what will be their fate when the Kadhi courts are entrenched in the constitution?” he said.
When Mulinde converted from Islam to Christianity, his family drove him away with clubs and machetes. Since then, he has suffered numerous life-threatening attacks. In 1995 at Mbiji, he was attacked with clubs but managed to escape. In 1998 he was attacked at Kangulomila near Jinja town. In 2000 in Masaka, Muslims bribed the area district commissioner to declare Mulinde’s meetings illegal; Muslims stormed into one of the meetings and dragged him out, beating him till he lost consciousness. Police saved him.
In 2001 in Busia, while addressing another meeting, a Muslim extremist narrowly missed killing him with a sword. In 1994, he survived a gun attack at Natete, near Kampala, when a bullet narrowly missed him. He said that as he fell into muddy waters, his Muslim attackers, thinking they had killed him, said, “Allah akbar.”
Because of the threats against him – in October Muslim extremists sent him text messages threatening to assassinate him – Mulinde had relocated to another area in Uganda.
He has vowed to continue fighting for the rights of the former Muslims haunted by radical Islamists.
Burns threaten eyesight of church leader who opposed Islamic courts.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-extremists-in-uganda-throw-acid-on-bishop-65903/
The Christian Post > World|Wed, Dec. 28 2011 01:07 PM EDT
By Compass Direct News
KAMPALA, Uganda – Islamic extremists threw acid on a church leader on Christmas Eve shortly after a seven-day revival at his church, leaving him with severe burns that have blinded one eye and threaten sight in the other.
Bishop Umar Mulinde, 37, a sheikh (Islamic teacher) before his conversion to Christianity, was attacked on Saturday night (Dec. 24) outside his Gospel Life Church International building in Namasuba, about 10 kilometers (six miles) outside of Kampala. From his hospital bed in Kampala, he told Compass that he was on his way back to the site for a party with the entire congregation and hundreds of new converts to Christianity when a man who claimed to be a Christian approached him.
“I heard him say in a loud voice, ‘Pastor, pastor,’ and as I made a turn and looked at him, he poured the liquid onto my face as others poured more liquid on my back and then fled away shouting, ‘Allahu akbar [God is greater],’” Mulinde said, still visibly traumatized two days after the assault.
A neighbor and church members rushed him to a hospital in the Mengo area of Kampala, and he was then transferred to International Hospital Kampala.
“I have to continue fighting this pain – it is too much,” Mulinde said. “My entire body is in pain. Most of the night I miss sleep.”
His face, neck and arms bore deep black scars from the acid, and his lips were swollen.
“The burn caused by the acid is so severe that there is an urgent need for specialized treatment,” said area Christian Musa Baluku Symutsangira. “I suggest that he be flown outside the country as soon as possible; otherwise Mulinde might lose both of his eyes, coupled with the spread of the burns. The burns seemed to spread and go very deep. He might need some plastic surgery.”
A doctor told Compass that acid burns cover about 30 percent of his face and has cost him sight in one eye.
“We are doing all we can to save his other remaining eye and to contain the acid from spreading to other parts of the body,” the doctor said.
Mulinde’s shirt, tie and suit were in tatters after the attack.
Mulinde said his father, Id Wasswa, was a local prayer leader or imam.
“I was born into a Muslim family, and although I decided to become a Christian, I have been financially assisting many Muslims, as well as my relatives who are Muslims,” he said. “I have been conducting a peaceful evangelism campaign.”
Mulinde said Muslim extremists opposed to his conversion from Islam and his outspoken opposition of sharia (Islamic law) courts in Uganda, known in East Africa as Kadhi courts, attacked him. On Oct. 15, area Muslim leaders declared a fatwa against him demanding his death.
“I have been receiving several threats for a long time, and this last one is the worst of all,” Mulinde said. “I have bore the marks of Jesus.”
Mulinde is known for debates locally and internationally in which he often challenges Muslims regarding their religion. His extensive knowledge and quotation of the Quran in his preaching has won him enemies and friends. Often criticizing Islam, he has relied on police protection during revival campaigns throughout Uganda.
“Mulinde poses a big threat to those who cannot take the challenge as he engages the Muslims in debate,” said Dr. Joseph Serwadda, an area church leader.
A church guard who was away on the day of the attack said he felt responsible.
“I feel bad,” he said. “I feel I have failed in my duty as a guard.”
Mulinde is married and has six children ages 14, 12, 8, 6 and twins who are 3.
Police have reportedly arrested one suspect, whom they have declined to name. A divisional commander at Katwa police station identified only as Kateebe would say only that an investigation was underway.
The hospital charges 350,000 Uganda shillings (US$140 dollars) per day, a steep amount in Uganda.
“We appeal for our brothers and sisters wherever they are to assist the life of Bishop Umar Mulinde,” said Symutsangira.
Several Attacks
Mulinde, who lives and pastors in Namasuba outside of Kampala, in April led religious leaders in petitioning the Ugandan Parliament to refrain from amending the constitution to introduce Kadhi courts.
He collected 360,000 signatures from former Muslims who have converted to Christianity, he said, and managed to temporarily stop parliament from proposing the constitutional change. When Compass met with Mulinde in November, however, he said there was new momentum to revive the Kadhi courts issue.
In May he was attacked by suspected Muslim extremists after a series of campaigns against Kadhi courts in Namasuba. After presenting his case against the Kadhi courts, he narrowly escaped a kidnap attempt when his vehicle was blocked at eight kilometers (five miles) outside of Kampala at Ndege, two kilometers from his home in Namasuba. Muslim extremists jumped out of the vehicle and shot at the fleeing Mulinde but missed him. He reported the case at the Katwa police station.
Mulinde has faced several injuries and attacks from Muslims since his conversion to Christianity in 1993, including having stones thrown at him after debates in 1998 and 2002.
After Kenya maintained Kadhi courts in its new constitution last year, the attorney general of Uganda wanted to insert Kadhi courts – which presumably would deal only with marriage and family issues for Muslims – into the Ugandan constitution. But Mulinde argued that there would be two judicial systems governing one country.
“If Muslims who convert to Christianity are facing persecution from the Muslims now, then what will be their fate when the Kadhi courts are entrenched in the constitution?” he said.
When Mulinde converted from Islam to Christianity, his family drove him away with clubs and machetes. Since then, he has suffered numerous life-threatening attacks. In 1995 at Mbiji, he was attacked with clubs but managed to escape. In 1998 he was attacked at Kangulomila near Jinja town. In 2000 in Masaka, Muslims bribed the area district commissioner to declare Mulinde’s meetings illegal; Muslims stormed into one of the meetings and dragged him out, beating him till he lost consciousness. Police saved him.
In 2001 in Busia, while addressing another meeting, a Muslim extremist narrowly missed killing him with a sword. In 1994, he survived a gun attack at Natete, near Kampala, when a bullet narrowly missed him. He said that as he fell into muddy waters, his Muslim attackers, thinking they had killed him, said, “Allah akbar.”
Because of the threats against him – in October Muslim extremists sent him text messages threatening to assassinate him – Mulinde had relocated to another area in Uganda.
He has vowed to continue fighting for the rights of the former Muslims haunted by radical Islamists.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Was He attached by a Muslim assailant? Suspect in Pastor Mulinde acid attack arrested
FIRST READ:
Acid attack on Afghan schoolgirls
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7724505.stm
Acid-attack-on-boy-who-refused-sex-with-Muslim-cleric
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1453786/Acid-attack-on-boy-who-refused-sex-with-Muslim-cleric.html
Islamic Acid Attacks
http://crombouke.blogspot.com/2010/01/islamic-acid-attacks-more-muslim.html
Man held over acid attack on top city pastor
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1295578/-/bfk0u7z/-/index.html
By STEPHEN OTAGE & ANDREW BAGALA
Posted Tuesday, December 27 2011 at 00:00
The police in Kampala are holding a man in connection wiht a Christmas Eve acid attack on Pastor Umar Mulinde.
Apostle Mulinde, who denounced Islam after he became a born-again Christian, was left with a damaged right eye and a disfigured face on Christmas Eve after an assailant splashed acid on his face at Namasuba, a Kampala suburb.
Police say the suspect is in their custody but they would not reveal his identity because the case is still at a sensitive stage. “One person has been arrested and he is helping us with the investigations,” the police spokesman, Mr Asuman Mugenyi, said.
Gospel Life Church leader Apostle Mulinde, who is currently admitted to International Hospital Kampala, attracted many followers after he converted from Islam and became a strong critic of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
He told Daily Monitor yesterday from his hospital bed that he believes that the attack that happened around 9pm at his church had connections to his preaching and interpretation of the Quran.
Targeted
“I have been witch-hunted since I converted to Christianity. I do not know which crime I committed because I have been receiving threats and the authorities kept ignoring them not knowing it would result into this,” Apostle Mulinde said.
He said as he was leaving his church, a person who claimed to be one of his flock called him aside pretending that he was wanted. He obliged. “When I turned around, the assailant poured acid on my face which splashed on the right side of the face, suit and shirt affecting my eye and face,” Apostle Mulinde said.
He added that shortly after the incident, he heard one of the assailants shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is Great).
Mr Mugenyi yesterday said they have not yet reached a conclusion that the attack was religiously motivated. Religious motivated violence have been rare in Uganda in recent history.
The attacks have mainly been common in domestic related violence or over personal and business rivalries.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
Suspect in Pastor Mulinde acid attack arrested
Publish Date: Dec 26, 2011
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/315086-Suspect-in-Pastor-Mulinde-acid-attack-arrested.html
By Taddeo Bwambale and Nicholas Kajoba
Three days after a suspected acid attack on Pastor Umar Mulinde of Gospel Life Church, Police has arrested one person in connection with the incident.
Addressing a press briefing on Monday, Police spokesperson, Asuman Mugenyi said one person had been arrested but declined to disclose the details. He confirmed that acid was used in the attack and said the police was carrying out investigations to establish the motive of the attackers.
Unknown people attacked Mulinde on Christmas Eve at about 9:00pm shortly after he returned from a church crusade. The attackers poured acid on him, leaving his face partly disfigured and his right eye is blinded.
His face, neck and arms are covered with deep black scars and his lips are swollen.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists at International Hospital, Kampala (IHK) , Mulinde said he was attacked by unidentified men whose target was to kill him.
“I was attacked by a man who claimed to be a Christian. He called out to me shouting, “pastor, pastor’ and as I turned to see who he was, he poured acid which burnt part of my face,” he said.
“As I turned away from the attacker, another man poured the liquid on my back and ran away shouting ‘Allah Akbar (God is great).”
Pastor Mulinde said he caught a glimpse of the attackers but could not disclose the details as this would jeopardise investigations. He blamed the attack to some people who are opposed to his conversion from the Islamic faith to Christianity.
“I have got threats for a very long time, but didn’t take them serious until now,” he said.
Mulinde was raised in a staunch Muslim family and his father served as the local Imam. He was a sheikh before getting converted to Christianity.
Mulinde said the attack occurred shortly after his church had concluded a seven-day crusade at in which over 300 people gave their lives to the Lord.
“We went back to our church to test the sound equipment and everything was perfect. We had organised a Christmas party for the converts when this happened,” he said. His followers rushed him to Mengo Hospital, where he was referred to IHK.
Efforts to get a comment from doctors about Mulinde’s condition were futile as hospital authorities blocked journalists from talking to them. A source told New Vision that doctors were trying hard to save his sight and contain the acid from spreading to other parts of his body.
Pastor Umar Mulinde blinded by acid attack
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/315067-Pastor-Umar-Mulinde-blinded-by-acid-attack.html
Publish Date: Dec 25, 2011
By Nicholas Kajoba
As many Ugandans celebrate Christmas, Pastor Umar Mulinde of Gospel Life Church, Namasuba was lying in pain following an acid attack by unknown person last night.
The unfortunate incident happened at mid-night, after Pastor Mulinde led his congregation into night prayers that ushered in Christmas.
Witness says that after the attacker poured acid onto the pastor’s face he took off before he could be recognized. Mulinde fall down and started shouting calling for help from his followers who rushed him to Mengo hospital.
“The pastor conducted prayers in joyful mood and even asked Christian to repent for their sins. But all of sudden after the prayers when the pastor was leaving the church somebody came and attacked him with acid,” a witness said.
Umar is a graduate of Islamic propagation and a sheikh who grew up in a staunch Muslim family where his father was the local Imam. He heard the Gospel clearly explained in relation to his religion at an outdoor meeting when he was a university student.
He is an evangelist and church planter with an outstanding ability to debate and challenge the religion from which he came in any public forum. His controversies preaching about his past religion (Muslim) had always caused him to be at logger heads with some Muslims.
Mulinde was later transferred to International Hospital Kampala (IHK) where he was taken to Intensive care unit. Pastor’s wife, Eva Mulinde who is looking after him in the hospital said that the patient was still lying in agony and need prayers.
“We took him to mengo hospital and transferred him here because his condition was not good. But we pray he gets well soon,’ she said.
Accessing him at the hospital is not easy because the room where he is lying was guarded by people who identified themselves as believers from Kibuye prayer palace.
Gospel life Church International is a Bible-Believing, Christ-Centered, Life Group Centered and Mission Sending Ministries that is characterized with The Word, Prayer, Passion for souls, Praise and Worship,
Eby’okwokya Paasita Mulinde bibatabudde
http://www.bukedde.co.ug/news/60811-Eby-okwokya--Paasita-Mulinde--bibatabudde.html
Dec 27, 2011
Bya Robert Mutebi, Nicholas Kajoba ne Joseph Mutebi
EBY’ ENSONGA eyayiirizza asidi Paasita w’Abalokole, Umaru Mulinde byongedde okulanda abamu ku baliraanwa be bwe bategeezezza nti enkaayana z’ettaka z’aludde nazo zandiba nga ze zaavuddeko obulumbaganyi buno.
Mulinde baamuteeze ava mu kkanisa ye okubuulira enjiri ekiro ne bamuyiira asidi bwe yabadde alinnya mmotoka ye okudda awaka.
Omutume Mulinde ow’ekkanisa ya Gospel Life Church International e Namasuba ku lw’e Ntebe ye yagudde ku kibambulira mu kiro ekyakeesezza Ssekukkulu nga kyajje ave ku kituuti mu zimu ku nkung’aana z’abadde nazo mu keetereekerero ka Ssekukkulu.
Asidi eyamuyiiriddwa yayiise ku ludda lwa mmotoka ye ey’ekia kya Toyota Surf olwa ddereeva lwonna n’akulukutira ku ndabirwamu.
“Twabadde tuli wano ne tuwulira enduulu ng’omusajja awanjaga nti bamuyiiridde asidi era twagenze okutuuka nga ye musumba muliraanwa waffe kwe kusooka okumuddusa mu kalwaliro akamu e Namasuba gye baatugobye ne tugenda ku International Hospital e Namuwongo,” Moses Kalyango omu ku baliraanwa be ku kkanisa ye bwe yategeezezza.
Omu ku baliraanwa ba Mulinde ku kkanisa ye yategeezezza nti ku makya baalabye abavubuka basatu abaakedde okutuula ku kifugi ky’omu ku baliraanwa baabwe nti era bwe baababuuzizza kye balinda nga batamattama kwe kubagobawo kyokka omu n’alemerawo kyokka n’ ab- alala obwedda bagira ne badda.
Omu eyabadde ayambadde enkofiira ye yasigaddewo ppaka obudde kuziba era ono gwe bateebereza okuyiira omusumba asidi ku ssaawa 5:30 ez’ekiro kubanga bwe yabadde adduka ng’ayambukira mu mayumba enkofiira ye yamuguddeko n’atadda kuginona era poliisi yagitutte.
MULINDE BY’AGAMBA
Omutume Mulinde yasinzidde ku kitanda mu ddwaaliro gy’ajjanjabirwa erya International Hospital n’agamba nti abamuwalanya olw’okukyusa eddiini n’ava mu Busiraamu n’alokoka be bali emabega w’okumwokya asidi.
Agamba nti: Nnabadde naakava e Masajja mu lukung’aana lw’enjiri omwalokokedde abantu abasoba mu 1000 nga nzize ku kkanisa yange okuttaanya enteekateeka z’akabaga k’abo abaalokose era mba nva mu kkanisa okugenda mu paakingi okuggyayo mmotoka yange omusajja omu kwe kumpita nti musumba, bwe nnakyuse okumulaba n’anjiira asidi mu feesi.
Mba nkyalaajaana omulala n’anva emabega naye n’anjiira asidi mu mugongo era wano nnapadde bupaazi okudda gye nva nga sitegeera kintuseeko.Eyasoose okunjiira asidi nnamulabye era olwamaze n’agamba nti…”Allah Akbar…..(Ekivuunulwa nti Katonda munene).
“Abantu abamu balowooza nti zaabadde mpalana z’abakazi naye ekyo ssi kituufu kubanga mukyala wange Evelyn Mulinde (nga bw’amusongako mu ddwaaliro) mmulinamu abaana mukaaga nga yaakamala n’okunzaalira abalongo n’olwekyo ssisobola kumugattako,” Mulinde bwe yannyonnyodde.
Omwogezi wa Poliisi, Asuman Mugenyi yagambye nti baakakwatayo omuntu omu ku kikolwa kino kyokka yagaaanyi okumwogera amannya kubanga kijja kutabulatabula okubuuliriza kwa Poliisi.
Kyokka baliraanwa ba Mulinde bagamba nti aludde ng’agugulana n’eyamuguza ettaka kwe yazimba ekkanisa ye ku poloti 595 mu Namuli Zooni e Najjanankumbi mu mwaka 2008 oluvannyuma lw’omusumba okusalawo okuzimba ku kifo kyonna n’atwaliramu n’akafo akagambibwa nti baali balagaanye okukalekawo.
Mulinde y’ani?
1 Yazaalwa mu maka Amayisiraamu era kitaawe yali Imaamu wa Muzikiti
2 Yasooka kukuguka mu by’eddiini y’Ekisiraamu by’alinamu Ddiguli eya El-Dawa
3 Yali yeetaba nnyo mu kuwakana okwategekebwanga mu bisaawe ng’Abasiraamu battunka n’Abalokole era yajulizanga ebyawandiikibwa ng’asemba nti eddiini y’Obusiraamu y’entuufu.
4 Mu 1990 yasalawo n’alokoka era n’atandika okuvumirira eddiini y’Obusiraamu.
5 Yatandika ekkanisa ya Gospel Life Church Namasuba.
6 Talina luganda ku musumba omulala bwe bafaananya erinnya John Mulinde.
Omutume Mulinde bamuyiiridde asidi
Dec 26, 2011
Bya Robert Mutebi
OMUSUMBA w’ekkanisa y’Abalokole mu Kampala ab’ettima bamuteeze ng’ava mu kkanisa ye okubuulira enjiri ekiro ne bamuyiira asidi bwe yabadde alinnya mmotoka ye okudda ewaka.
Omutume Umar Mulinde ow’ekkanisa ya Gospel Life Church International e Najjanankumbi yeeyagudde ku kibambulira kino mu kiro ekikeesa OLwomukaaga ku ssaawa 5:30 nga ky'ajje ave ku kituuti mu zimu ku nkung'aana z’abadde nazo mu keetereekerero ka Ssekukkulu.
Asidi eyamuyiiriddwa yayiise ku ludda lwa mmotoka ye olwa ddereeva lwonna n’akulukutira ku ndabirwamu.
“Twabadde tuli wano ne tuwulira enduulu nga z’amusajja ng’awanjaga nti bamuyiiridde asidi era twagenze okutuuka nga ye musumba muliraanwa waffe kwe kusooka okumuddusa mu kalwaaliro akamu e Namasuba gye baatugobye ne tugenda ku International” Moses Kalyango omu ku baliraanwa ba Mulinde ku kkanisa ye bwe yategeezezza.
Ye Omutume asinzidde ku kitanda mu ddwaliro gy'ajjanjabirwa erya International Hospital n’agamba nti abamuwalana olw’okukyusa eddiini n’ava mu Busiraamu n’alokoka be bali emabega w’okumwokya asidi.
“Kyemmanyi eyanjiridde asidi yazze wakati wa ssaawa 3:00 ne 4:00 ez’ekiro era yansig'aanye nnaakava e Masajja mu lukung'aana lw’enjiri omwalokokedde abantu abasoba mu 1000”. Mulinde bwe yategeezezza
Wabula omwogezi wa Poliisi mu ggwanga Asuman Mugyenyi yategeezezza mu lukung’aana lw’abamawulire nti baakakwatayo omuntu omu ku bateeberezebwa okwenyigira mu kikolwa kino kyokka n'agaana okwatuukiriza amannya ge n’ebimukwatako. Mugyenyi yagambye nti poliisi ekyagenda mu maaso n’okukola okunoonyereza okuzuula abeenyigidde muy kikolwa kino.
Acid attack on Afghan schoolgirls
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7724505.stm
Acid-attack-on-boy-who-refused-sex-with-Muslim-cleric
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1453786/Acid-attack-on-boy-who-refused-sex-with-Muslim-cleric.html
Islamic Acid Attacks
http://crombouke.blogspot.com/2010/01/islamic-acid-attacks-more-muslim.html
Man held over acid attack on top city pastor
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1295578/-/bfk0u7z/-/index.html
By STEPHEN OTAGE & ANDREW BAGALA
Posted Tuesday, December 27 2011 at 00:00
The police in Kampala are holding a man in connection wiht a Christmas Eve acid attack on Pastor Umar Mulinde.
Apostle Mulinde, who denounced Islam after he became a born-again Christian, was left with a damaged right eye and a disfigured face on Christmas Eve after an assailant splashed acid on his face at Namasuba, a Kampala suburb.
Police say the suspect is in their custody but they would not reveal his identity because the case is still at a sensitive stage. “One person has been arrested and he is helping us with the investigations,” the police spokesman, Mr Asuman Mugenyi, said.
Gospel Life Church leader Apostle Mulinde, who is currently admitted to International Hospital Kampala, attracted many followers after he converted from Islam and became a strong critic of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
He told Daily Monitor yesterday from his hospital bed that he believes that the attack that happened around 9pm at his church had connections to his preaching and interpretation of the Quran.
Targeted
“I have been witch-hunted since I converted to Christianity. I do not know which crime I committed because I have been receiving threats and the authorities kept ignoring them not knowing it would result into this,” Apostle Mulinde said.
He said as he was leaving his church, a person who claimed to be one of his flock called him aside pretending that he was wanted. He obliged. “When I turned around, the assailant poured acid on my face which splashed on the right side of the face, suit and shirt affecting my eye and face,” Apostle Mulinde said.
He added that shortly after the incident, he heard one of the assailants shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is Great).
Mr Mugenyi yesterday said they have not yet reached a conclusion that the attack was religiously motivated. Religious motivated violence have been rare in Uganda in recent history.
The attacks have mainly been common in domestic related violence or over personal and business rivalries.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
Suspect in Pastor Mulinde acid attack arrested
Publish Date: Dec 26, 2011
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/315086-Suspect-in-Pastor-Mulinde-acid-attack-arrested.html
By Taddeo Bwambale and Nicholas Kajoba
Three days after a suspected acid attack on Pastor Umar Mulinde of Gospel Life Church, Police has arrested one person in connection with the incident.
Addressing a press briefing on Monday, Police spokesperson, Asuman Mugenyi said one person had been arrested but declined to disclose the details. He confirmed that acid was used in the attack and said the police was carrying out investigations to establish the motive of the attackers.
Unknown people attacked Mulinde on Christmas Eve at about 9:00pm shortly after he returned from a church crusade. The attackers poured acid on him, leaving his face partly disfigured and his right eye is blinded.
His face, neck and arms are covered with deep black scars and his lips are swollen.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists at International Hospital, Kampala (IHK) , Mulinde said he was attacked by unidentified men whose target was to kill him.
“I was attacked by a man who claimed to be a Christian. He called out to me shouting, “pastor, pastor’ and as I turned to see who he was, he poured acid which burnt part of my face,” he said.
“As I turned away from the attacker, another man poured the liquid on my back and ran away shouting ‘Allah Akbar (God is great).”
Pastor Mulinde said he caught a glimpse of the attackers but could not disclose the details as this would jeopardise investigations. He blamed the attack to some people who are opposed to his conversion from the Islamic faith to Christianity.
“I have got threats for a very long time, but didn’t take them serious until now,” he said.
Mulinde was raised in a staunch Muslim family and his father served as the local Imam. He was a sheikh before getting converted to Christianity.
Mulinde said the attack occurred shortly after his church had concluded a seven-day crusade at in which over 300 people gave their lives to the Lord.
“We went back to our church to test the sound equipment and everything was perfect. We had organised a Christmas party for the converts when this happened,” he said. His followers rushed him to Mengo Hospital, where he was referred to IHK.
Efforts to get a comment from doctors about Mulinde’s condition were futile as hospital authorities blocked journalists from talking to them. A source told New Vision that doctors were trying hard to save his sight and contain the acid from spreading to other parts of his body.
Pastor Umar Mulinde blinded by acid attack
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/315067-Pastor-Umar-Mulinde-blinded-by-acid-attack.html
Publish Date: Dec 25, 2011
By Nicholas Kajoba
As many Ugandans celebrate Christmas, Pastor Umar Mulinde of Gospel Life Church, Namasuba was lying in pain following an acid attack by unknown person last night.
The unfortunate incident happened at mid-night, after Pastor Mulinde led his congregation into night prayers that ushered in Christmas.
Witness says that after the attacker poured acid onto the pastor’s face he took off before he could be recognized. Mulinde fall down and started shouting calling for help from his followers who rushed him to Mengo hospital.
“The pastor conducted prayers in joyful mood and even asked Christian to repent for their sins. But all of sudden after the prayers when the pastor was leaving the church somebody came and attacked him with acid,” a witness said.
Umar is a graduate of Islamic propagation and a sheikh who grew up in a staunch Muslim family where his father was the local Imam. He heard the Gospel clearly explained in relation to his religion at an outdoor meeting when he was a university student.
He is an evangelist and church planter with an outstanding ability to debate and challenge the religion from which he came in any public forum. His controversies preaching about his past religion (Muslim) had always caused him to be at logger heads with some Muslims.
Mulinde was later transferred to International Hospital Kampala (IHK) where he was taken to Intensive care unit. Pastor’s wife, Eva Mulinde who is looking after him in the hospital said that the patient was still lying in agony and need prayers.
“We took him to mengo hospital and transferred him here because his condition was not good. But we pray he gets well soon,’ she said.
Accessing him at the hospital is not easy because the room where he is lying was guarded by people who identified themselves as believers from Kibuye prayer palace.
Gospel life Church International is a Bible-Believing, Christ-Centered, Life Group Centered and Mission Sending Ministries that is characterized with The Word, Prayer, Passion for souls, Praise and Worship,
Eby’okwokya Paasita Mulinde bibatabudde
http://www.bukedde.co.ug/news/60811-Eby-okwokya--Paasita-Mulinde--bibatabudde.html
Dec 27, 2011
Bya Robert Mutebi, Nicholas Kajoba ne Joseph Mutebi
EBY’ ENSONGA eyayiirizza asidi Paasita w’Abalokole, Umaru Mulinde byongedde okulanda abamu ku baliraanwa be bwe bategeezezza nti enkaayana z’ettaka z’aludde nazo zandiba nga ze zaavuddeko obulumbaganyi buno.
Mulinde baamuteeze ava mu kkanisa ye okubuulira enjiri ekiro ne bamuyiira asidi bwe yabadde alinnya mmotoka ye okudda awaka.
Omutume Mulinde ow’ekkanisa ya Gospel Life Church International e Namasuba ku lw’e Ntebe ye yagudde ku kibambulira mu kiro ekyakeesezza Ssekukkulu nga kyajje ave ku kituuti mu zimu ku nkung’aana z’abadde nazo mu keetereekerero ka Ssekukkulu.
Asidi eyamuyiiriddwa yayiise ku ludda lwa mmotoka ye ey’ekia kya Toyota Surf olwa ddereeva lwonna n’akulukutira ku ndabirwamu.
“Twabadde tuli wano ne tuwulira enduulu ng’omusajja awanjaga nti bamuyiiridde asidi era twagenze okutuuka nga ye musumba muliraanwa waffe kwe kusooka okumuddusa mu kalwaliro akamu e Namasuba gye baatugobye ne tugenda ku International Hospital e Namuwongo,” Moses Kalyango omu ku baliraanwa be ku kkanisa ye bwe yategeezezza.
Omu ku baliraanwa ba Mulinde ku kkanisa ye yategeezezza nti ku makya baalabye abavubuka basatu abaakedde okutuula ku kifugi ky’omu ku baliraanwa baabwe nti era bwe baababuuzizza kye balinda nga batamattama kwe kubagobawo kyokka omu n’alemerawo kyokka n’ ab- alala obwedda bagira ne badda.
Omu eyabadde ayambadde enkofiira ye yasigaddewo ppaka obudde kuziba era ono gwe bateebereza okuyiira omusumba asidi ku ssaawa 5:30 ez’ekiro kubanga bwe yabadde adduka ng’ayambukira mu mayumba enkofiira ye yamuguddeko n’atadda kuginona era poliisi yagitutte.
MULINDE BY’AGAMBA
Omutume Mulinde yasinzidde ku kitanda mu ddwaaliro gy’ajjanjabirwa erya International Hospital n’agamba nti abamuwalanya olw’okukyusa eddiini n’ava mu Busiraamu n’alokoka be bali emabega w’okumwokya asidi.
Agamba nti: Nnabadde naakava e Masajja mu lukung’aana lw’enjiri omwalokokedde abantu abasoba mu 1000 nga nzize ku kkanisa yange okuttaanya enteekateeka z’akabaga k’abo abaalokose era mba nva mu kkanisa okugenda mu paakingi okuggyayo mmotoka yange omusajja omu kwe kumpita nti musumba, bwe nnakyuse okumulaba n’anjiira asidi mu feesi.
Mba nkyalaajaana omulala n’anva emabega naye n’anjiira asidi mu mugongo era wano nnapadde bupaazi okudda gye nva nga sitegeera kintuseeko.Eyasoose okunjiira asidi nnamulabye era olwamaze n’agamba nti…”Allah Akbar…..(Ekivuunulwa nti Katonda munene).
“Abantu abamu balowooza nti zaabadde mpalana z’abakazi naye ekyo ssi kituufu kubanga mukyala wange Evelyn Mulinde (nga bw’amusongako mu ddwaaliro) mmulinamu abaana mukaaga nga yaakamala n’okunzaalira abalongo n’olwekyo ssisobola kumugattako,” Mulinde bwe yannyonnyodde.
Omwogezi wa Poliisi, Asuman Mugenyi yagambye nti baakakwatayo omuntu omu ku kikolwa kino kyokka yagaaanyi okumwogera amannya kubanga kijja kutabulatabula okubuuliriza kwa Poliisi.
Kyokka baliraanwa ba Mulinde bagamba nti aludde ng’agugulana n’eyamuguza ettaka kwe yazimba ekkanisa ye ku poloti 595 mu Namuli Zooni e Najjanankumbi mu mwaka 2008 oluvannyuma lw’omusumba okusalawo okuzimba ku kifo kyonna n’atwaliramu n’akafo akagambibwa nti baali balagaanye okukalekawo.
Mulinde y’ani?
1 Yazaalwa mu maka Amayisiraamu era kitaawe yali Imaamu wa Muzikiti
2 Yasooka kukuguka mu by’eddiini y’Ekisiraamu by’alinamu Ddiguli eya El-Dawa
3 Yali yeetaba nnyo mu kuwakana okwategekebwanga mu bisaawe ng’Abasiraamu battunka n’Abalokole era yajulizanga ebyawandiikibwa ng’asemba nti eddiini y’Obusiraamu y’entuufu.
4 Mu 1990 yasalawo n’alokoka era n’atandika okuvumirira eddiini y’Obusiraamu.
5 Yatandika ekkanisa ya Gospel Life Church Namasuba.
6 Talina luganda ku musumba omulala bwe bafaananya erinnya John Mulinde.
Omutume Mulinde bamuyiiridde asidi
Dec 26, 2011
Bya Robert Mutebi
OMUSUMBA w’ekkanisa y’Abalokole mu Kampala ab’ettima bamuteeze ng’ava mu kkanisa ye okubuulira enjiri ekiro ne bamuyiira asidi bwe yabadde alinnya mmotoka ye okudda ewaka.
Omutume Umar Mulinde ow’ekkanisa ya Gospel Life Church International e Najjanankumbi yeeyagudde ku kibambulira kino mu kiro ekikeesa OLwomukaaga ku ssaawa 5:30 nga ky'ajje ave ku kituuti mu zimu ku nkung'aana z’abadde nazo mu keetereekerero ka Ssekukkulu.
Asidi eyamuyiiriddwa yayiise ku ludda lwa mmotoka ye olwa ddereeva lwonna n’akulukutira ku ndabirwamu.
“Twabadde tuli wano ne tuwulira enduulu nga z’amusajja ng’awanjaga nti bamuyiiridde asidi era twagenze okutuuka nga ye musumba muliraanwa waffe kwe kusooka okumuddusa mu kalwaaliro akamu e Namasuba gye baatugobye ne tugenda ku International” Moses Kalyango omu ku baliraanwa ba Mulinde ku kkanisa ye bwe yategeezezza.
Ye Omutume asinzidde ku kitanda mu ddwaliro gy'ajjanjabirwa erya International Hospital n’agamba nti abamuwalana olw’okukyusa eddiini n’ava mu Busiraamu n’alokoka be bali emabega w’okumwokya asidi.
“Kyemmanyi eyanjiridde asidi yazze wakati wa ssaawa 3:00 ne 4:00 ez’ekiro era yansig'aanye nnaakava e Masajja mu lukung'aana lw’enjiri omwalokokedde abantu abasoba mu 1000”. Mulinde bwe yategeezezza
Wabula omwogezi wa Poliisi mu ggwanga Asuman Mugyenyi yategeezezza mu lukung’aana lw’abamawulire nti baakakwatayo omuntu omu ku bateeberezebwa okwenyigira mu kikolwa kino kyokka n'agaana okwatuukiriza amannya ge n’ebimukwatako. Mugyenyi yagambye nti poliisi ekyagenda mu maaso n’okukola okunoonyereza okuzuula abeenyigidde muy kikolwa kino.
Pastor Kayanja Sodomy case: Magistrate faces probe
Sodomy case: Magistrate faces probe
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1292696/-/bfm2yjz/-/index.html
By Ephraim Kasozi & Betty Ndagire
Posted Tuesday, December 20 2011 at 11:19
In Summary
Magistrate Patrick Wekesa is accused of acting unprofessionally and with impartiality.
The trial of four city pastors accused of tarnishing the name of Pastor Robert Kayanja, has been halted to allow investigations into alleged bias of the magistrate.
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Vincent Mugabo stayed the trial to allow investigations into allegations that Grade One Magistrate John Patrick Wekesa has been handling the case unprofessionally and with impartiality.
The suspension of the trial follows a mid-morning closed-door meeting between Mr Mugabo, lawyer of the accused Mr Kato Sekabanja and Mr Wekesa, over the allegations.
Fear of arrest
On December 15, Mr Sekabanja petitioned the chief registrar challenging Mr Wekesa’s conduct and decisions describing them as “very grave and hope they will be investigated.”
Pointing out nine instances which he says makes Mr Wekesa’s behavior questionable, Mr Sekabanja asked the chief registrar to reallocate the case to another magistrate, saying justice will not be dispensed.
“We, as defence counsel, are now apprehensive of appearing before the court trial magistrate and our instructions are to make this application. We are fearful of arrest with which we have been threatened,” said Mr Sekabanja.
Pastors Solomon Male of Arising for Christ, Martin Sempa of Makerere Christian Centre, Robert Kayiira and Michael Kyazze of Omega Healing Ministries are jointly charged with Ms Dorothy Kyomuhendo, former State House aide, and artiste David Mukalazi of conniving to tarnish the name of pastor Kayanja.
The suspects accused the pastor of sodomising some members of his church, an allegation pastor Kayanja denies.
Last week, Mr Wekesa ruled that the group have a case to answer after he declined to hear an application by the lawyers representing the accused persons describing their submissions as “nonsense and rubbish”.
Man attacks Pastor Male
However, in a letter copied to the Uganda Law Society and the Resident State Attorney, Mr Sekabanja said the matter was fixed for defence hearing without consultation and he sought urgent intervention of the Judiciary.
The lawyers also accuse Mr Wekesa of stopping defence lawyer Francis Gimara, from cross-examining a witness, variance in court rulings, declining to hear applications by defence lawyers and suggesting answers for witnesses.
Meanwhile, drama ensued at the court premises yesterday when an unknown man attacked Pastor Male, accusing him of implicating Pastor Kayanja, whom he described as a man of God.
The man warned Pastor Male in a heated verbal exchange to desist from the campaign of sodomy which he said was targeting Pastor Kayanja, whom he described as ‘man of God’.
Court will on January 18, 2012 determine if Magistrate Wekesa will continue with the case or not.
Kayanja Case: Magistrate accused of bias
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/314967-kayanja-case-magistrate-accused-of-bias.html
Publish Date: Dec 19, 2011
By Andante Okanya
THE six people including four pastors who are accused of conspiring to tarnish the reputation of Pastor Robert Kayanja, have written a protest letter to the Chief Registrar of Courts, complaining about the conduct of the trial magistrate whom they accuse of bias.
In the letter dated December 15, 2011, they claim Grade One Magistrate Patrick Wekesa has constantly threatened them throught the trial.The letter is also addressed to the Chief Magistrate Buganda Road Court in Kampala.
The protest letter has subsequently halted the trial which had been scheduled to continue yesterday.The accusedwere supposed to begin their defence yesterday after the court ruled that they had a case to answer. The case file has beenreturned to the Chief Magistrate Vincent Mugabo.
"We write to register our complaint against the trial magistrate in the above matter his worship John Wekesa. In particular in both his professional and ethical conduct in regard to the case," says the letter drafted by the defence team.
The accused allegedly conspired to claim that Kayanja sodomised boys at his church.They are pastors Solomon Male of Arising for Christ Ministries, Martin Sempa of Makerere Community Church, plus Michael Kyazze and Robert Kayiira of Omega Healing Centre. Also accused are businesswoman Dorothy Kyomuhendo, and local musician David Mukalazi.
Kayanja heads the Rubaga Miracle Centre, and runs the global Robert Kayanja Ministries.
Prosecution led by Stephen Asaba alleges that in 2008 and 2009 at various places within Kampala district, the accused “conspired to cause injury to Kayanja’s personality and reputation”.
Today, the accused's lawyers met the Chief Magistrate in his office.The press was barred from accessing it.
Defence lawyer Kato Sekabanja hailed it as fruitful, saying a probe into the allegations had been launched, and that they would be given feedback on January 18.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1292696/-/bfm2yjz/-/index.html
By Ephraim Kasozi & Betty Ndagire
Posted Tuesday, December 20 2011 at 11:19
In Summary
Magistrate Patrick Wekesa is accused of acting unprofessionally and with impartiality.
The trial of four city pastors accused of tarnishing the name of Pastor Robert Kayanja, has been halted to allow investigations into alleged bias of the magistrate.
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Vincent Mugabo stayed the trial to allow investigations into allegations that Grade One Magistrate John Patrick Wekesa has been handling the case unprofessionally and with impartiality.
The suspension of the trial follows a mid-morning closed-door meeting between Mr Mugabo, lawyer of the accused Mr Kato Sekabanja and Mr Wekesa, over the allegations.
Fear of arrest
On December 15, Mr Sekabanja petitioned the chief registrar challenging Mr Wekesa’s conduct and decisions describing them as “very grave and hope they will be investigated.”
Pointing out nine instances which he says makes Mr Wekesa’s behavior questionable, Mr Sekabanja asked the chief registrar to reallocate the case to another magistrate, saying justice will not be dispensed.
“We, as defence counsel, are now apprehensive of appearing before the court trial magistrate and our instructions are to make this application. We are fearful of arrest with which we have been threatened,” said Mr Sekabanja.
Pastors Solomon Male of Arising for Christ, Martin Sempa of Makerere Christian Centre, Robert Kayiira and Michael Kyazze of Omega Healing Ministries are jointly charged with Ms Dorothy Kyomuhendo, former State House aide, and artiste David Mukalazi of conniving to tarnish the name of pastor Kayanja.
The suspects accused the pastor of sodomising some members of his church, an allegation pastor Kayanja denies.
Last week, Mr Wekesa ruled that the group have a case to answer after he declined to hear an application by the lawyers representing the accused persons describing their submissions as “nonsense and rubbish”.
Man attacks Pastor Male
However, in a letter copied to the Uganda Law Society and the Resident State Attorney, Mr Sekabanja said the matter was fixed for defence hearing without consultation and he sought urgent intervention of the Judiciary.
The lawyers also accuse Mr Wekesa of stopping defence lawyer Francis Gimara, from cross-examining a witness, variance in court rulings, declining to hear applications by defence lawyers and suggesting answers for witnesses.
Meanwhile, drama ensued at the court premises yesterday when an unknown man attacked Pastor Male, accusing him of implicating Pastor Kayanja, whom he described as a man of God.
The man warned Pastor Male in a heated verbal exchange to desist from the campaign of sodomy which he said was targeting Pastor Kayanja, whom he described as ‘man of God’.
Court will on January 18, 2012 determine if Magistrate Wekesa will continue with the case or not.
Kayanja Case: Magistrate accused of bias
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/314967-kayanja-case-magistrate-accused-of-bias.html
Publish Date: Dec 19, 2011
By Andante Okanya
THE six people including four pastors who are accused of conspiring to tarnish the reputation of Pastor Robert Kayanja, have written a protest letter to the Chief Registrar of Courts, complaining about the conduct of the trial magistrate whom they accuse of bias.
In the letter dated December 15, 2011, they claim Grade One Magistrate Patrick Wekesa has constantly threatened them throught the trial.The letter is also addressed to the Chief Magistrate Buganda Road Court in Kampala.
The protest letter has subsequently halted the trial which had been scheduled to continue yesterday.The accusedwere supposed to begin their defence yesterday after the court ruled that they had a case to answer. The case file has beenreturned to the Chief Magistrate Vincent Mugabo.
"We write to register our complaint against the trial magistrate in the above matter his worship John Wekesa. In particular in both his professional and ethical conduct in regard to the case," says the letter drafted by the defence team.
The accused allegedly conspired to claim that Kayanja sodomised boys at his church.They are pastors Solomon Male of Arising for Christ Ministries, Martin Sempa of Makerere Community Church, plus Michael Kyazze and Robert Kayiira of Omega Healing Centre. Also accused are businesswoman Dorothy Kyomuhendo, and local musician David Mukalazi.
Kayanja heads the Rubaga Miracle Centre, and runs the global Robert Kayanja Ministries.
Prosecution led by Stephen Asaba alleges that in 2008 and 2009 at various places within Kampala district, the accused “conspired to cause injury to Kayanja’s personality and reputation”.
Today, the accused's lawyers met the Chief Magistrate in his office.The press was barred from accessing it.
Defence lawyer Kato Sekabanja hailed it as fruitful, saying a probe into the allegations had been launched, and that they would be given feedback on January 18.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Ugandan vicar in UK faces jail for staging sham marriages
Ugandan vicar in UK faces jail for staging sham marriages
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/314860-ugandan-vicar-in-uk-faces-jail-for-staging-sham-marriages.html
Publish Date: Dec 14, 2011
A Ugandan-born vicar based in UK has been warned that he faced going to jail 'for some time’ after he admitted staging 31 sham marriages.
The Rev Canon John Magumba, 58, conducted weddings between illegal immigrant brides and grooms and EU passport holders they barely knew so they could remain in Britain.
According to Daily Mail, the vicar also admitted pocketing over £8,000 that was given to his church in fees or donations from genuine weddings and funerals.
Investigators from the UK Border Agency were tipped off earlier this year that Magumba, who covered three churches in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was helping illegal immigrants take part in bogus weddings.
Equipped with marriage certificates, immigrants were then able to obtain a visa allowing them leave to stay in Britain with full access to education, healthcare and welfare benefits.
Often the couples would immediately drop the pretence of a relationship straight after the ceremony and go their separate ways.
At Bolton Crown Court yesterday, Magumba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to breaching UK immigration law by conducting sham marriages and also two counts of theft.
Judge Thomas Teague QC told the defence counsel for the shamed vicar: 'It is a very serious case and he must obviously expect to lose his liberty for some time.’
Speaking to Magumba, who stood in the dock with his head bowed, the judge added that it was 'a very serious matter’.
The married father-of-six, who wore an open-neck shirt with no dog collar, was accompanied by the Venerable Alan Wolstencroft, from the Bishop of Manchester's office.
Afterwards he said: 'He will not be saying anything - he is very upset.’
Magumba admitted conspiring with a number of people - who cannot be named for legal reasons - in facilitating the commission of a breach in immigration law between April 2008 and February 2011.
He also admitted stealing £5,437 from St Peter's Church and £2,908 from St Luke's Church, both in Rochdale – a total of £8,345.
He was granted bail and will be sentenced in January.
The vicar, of Deeplish, Rochdale, was arrested in March after an investigation into 100 sham marriages and suspended by the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch.
Sham: Rev Alex Brown was jailed for four years last year after marrying 360 illegal immigrants to complete strangers
Immigration investigators have been examining allegations that marriage banns were not read out by Magumba for ceremonies involving immigrants.
Names and addresses of brides and grooms should be read out at three services prior to the wedding and details posted for anyone to see.
Magumba was team vicar for the South Rochdale team ministry, overseeing three churches in the area - St Peter's, Newbold, St Luke's, Deeplish, and St Mary's, Balderstone.
A member of the Association of Christian Counsellors, he has lectured on the challenges of ministering to Britain’s growing African population and written a Phd on Christianity in Uganda.
Yesterday a Diocese of Manchester spokesman said: 'Reverend Canon John Magumba has pleaded guilty to contravening the Immigration Act by conducting irregular weddings and theft from churches.
'The highest standards are expected from all clergy. It is extremely rare for clergy to abuse the trust placed in them by their congregation, community and bishop.
'At present Rev Magumba is suspended by the Bishop of Manchester. His suspension will continue while formal procedures begin into his conduct.’
Last year another Church of England minister was jailed for four years over the biggest fake-wedding scam Britain has seen.
Rev Alex Brown abused his position at his Victorian parish church in the seaside town of St Leonards, East Sussex, to marry 360 illegal immigrants to complete strangers.
Between 2005 and 2009, Brown married up to eight couples a day and was found guilty of breaching immigration laws.
He also pleaded guilty to solemnising a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England without banns being properly read.
Source: Daily Mail
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/314860-ugandan-vicar-in-uk-faces-jail-for-staging-sham-marriages.html
Publish Date: Dec 14, 2011
A Ugandan-born vicar based in UK has been warned that he faced going to jail 'for some time’ after he admitted staging 31 sham marriages.
The Rev Canon John Magumba, 58, conducted weddings between illegal immigrant brides and grooms and EU passport holders they barely knew so they could remain in Britain.
According to Daily Mail, the vicar also admitted pocketing over £8,000 that was given to his church in fees or donations from genuine weddings and funerals.
Investigators from the UK Border Agency were tipped off earlier this year that Magumba, who covered three churches in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was helping illegal immigrants take part in bogus weddings.
Equipped with marriage certificates, immigrants were then able to obtain a visa allowing them leave to stay in Britain with full access to education, healthcare and welfare benefits.
Often the couples would immediately drop the pretence of a relationship straight after the ceremony and go their separate ways.
At Bolton Crown Court yesterday, Magumba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to breaching UK immigration law by conducting sham marriages and also two counts of theft.
Judge Thomas Teague QC told the defence counsel for the shamed vicar: 'It is a very serious case and he must obviously expect to lose his liberty for some time.’
Speaking to Magumba, who stood in the dock with his head bowed, the judge added that it was 'a very serious matter’.
The married father-of-six, who wore an open-neck shirt with no dog collar, was accompanied by the Venerable Alan Wolstencroft, from the Bishop of Manchester's office.
Afterwards he said: 'He will not be saying anything - he is very upset.’
Magumba admitted conspiring with a number of people - who cannot be named for legal reasons - in facilitating the commission of a breach in immigration law between April 2008 and February 2011.
He also admitted stealing £5,437 from St Peter's Church and £2,908 from St Luke's Church, both in Rochdale – a total of £8,345.
He was granted bail and will be sentenced in January.
The vicar, of Deeplish, Rochdale, was arrested in March after an investigation into 100 sham marriages and suspended by the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch.
Sham: Rev Alex Brown was jailed for four years last year after marrying 360 illegal immigrants to complete strangers
Immigration investigators have been examining allegations that marriage banns were not read out by Magumba for ceremonies involving immigrants.
Names and addresses of brides and grooms should be read out at three services prior to the wedding and details posted for anyone to see.
Magumba was team vicar for the South Rochdale team ministry, overseeing three churches in the area - St Peter's, Newbold, St Luke's, Deeplish, and St Mary's, Balderstone.
A member of the Association of Christian Counsellors, he has lectured on the challenges of ministering to Britain’s growing African population and written a Phd on Christianity in Uganda.
Yesterday a Diocese of Manchester spokesman said: 'Reverend Canon John Magumba has pleaded guilty to contravening the Immigration Act by conducting irregular weddings and theft from churches.
'The highest standards are expected from all clergy. It is extremely rare for clergy to abuse the trust placed in them by their congregation, community and bishop.
'At present Rev Magumba is suspended by the Bishop of Manchester. His suspension will continue while formal procedures begin into his conduct.’
Last year another Church of England minister was jailed for four years over the biggest fake-wedding scam Britain has seen.
Rev Alex Brown abused his position at his Victorian parish church in the seaside town of St Leonards, East Sussex, to marry 360 illegal immigrants to complete strangers.
Between 2005 and 2009, Brown married up to eight couples a day and was found guilty of breaching immigration laws.
He also pleaded guilty to solemnising a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England without banns being properly read.
Source: Daily Mail
Sunday, 4 December 2011
When Rwandan Refugees Die like rats amidst Global silence: Rwanda Journalist Shot in Kampala
FIRST READ: Impunity and Complicity in the Genocide in Rwanda and Congo: African Mercenaries for the American New world order system
Dread, whispers shroud Rwandan scribe’s funeral
By ANDREW BAGALA
Posted Saturday, December 3 2011 at 18:21
Dreadful grief was an understatement at the funeral service of the Rwandan journalist Charles Ingabire yesterday afternoon. It was more like the shroud on his death had descended on family members, friends and well-wishers bidding him final respects.
One by one, the mourners walked into Evangelical Restoration Church in Bakuli, many avoiding eye contacts with strangers and only speaking in hushed tones.
The funeral service that started about 2:30pm lasted for only about 20 minutes and had only two speakers.
First to speak was Pastor Shedrack Mporana, also a Rwandan, who described the day the editor of Rwanda’s Inyenyeri online news web site was shot as a sad one but urged mourners not to give into fear.
A second speaker, who only wanted to be identified as Pastor Yeremiya, also Rwandan, said many mourners wanted to pay their last respects to the deceased but they could not do so for security reasons.
“If you shoot someone dead, you are only killing the flesh not the spirit. We should not fear those who kill the flesh,” Pastor Yeremiya said.
No photos of identities
Several mourners we spoke to alleged being persecuted by government back home but none wanted their photographs taken or identities revealed.
Pastor Yeremiya, who had earlier moved around reminding the mourners to be weary of spies among them “intending to take information to their masters,” eventually let the cat out of the bag when he announced at the podium, “There is someone who has sent spies to spy on us.”
Among the mourners were men in civilian clothes, most of whom had security gadgets. The men could be seen communicating on walkie-talkies as the service went on.
Ingabire, 32, was shot twice in the lower abdomen late in the night of November 30, by unknown people in Makies II Bar at Bukesa-Kikoni near Makerere, a Kampala suburb.
Police found five cartridges of spent bullets, which they suspected to have been discharged by a Sub Machine Gun that was used to shoot Ingabire, at the scene of crime.
Police also said they have arrested two suspects now in their custody to help with investigations.
Ingabire had earlier fled Rwanda for Uganda for fear that his life was in danger for being critical of Rwanda president Paul Kagame and his government.
He was buried yesterday in a government cemetery at Lusaze in Rubaga Division, Kampala. He is survived with a wife and a five-month old baby.
No Rwandan government official attended the funeral or burial.
abagala@ug.nationmedia.com
Rwandan journalist Charles Ingabire killed in Uganda
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16012659
A Rwandan journalist living as a political refugee in Uganda has been shot dead, police say.
Charles Ingabire was gunned down in a bar in Kampala on Wednesday, but details are only now emerging.
He was editor of Inyenyeri News, an online publication critical of the government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Several critics of Mr Kagame have been attacked or killed in recent years. The government denies any responsibility.
Police say he had two bullet wounds and they are questioning a security guard and barmaid who worked at the bar.
"They're helping with investigations," Ibn Senkumbi told news agency Reuters.
Police say Mr Ingabire was drinking with an unidentified man at the bar near Makerere University when has killed.
They say they have recovered Mr Ingabire's phone, which they say should tell them who he made contact with prior to his death, says the BBC's Joshua Mmali.
Well-known Rwandan exiles were quick to point the finger at Rwandan security forces in posts on social media websites.
The Rwandan government has rejected allegations that it targets its opponents abroad as "preposterous".
'Very very insecure'
Godwin Buwa, a legal adviser at Uganda's Refugee Law Project, who had assisted Mr Ingabire, told the BBC he was "deeply saddened" by his loss.
"He told me quite a number of times how insecure he [was] and we co-ordinated to find some kind of security for him," he said.
He said Mr Ingabire had been rejected as a candidate for resettlement by the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR - despite "ample evidence that he was very very insecure".
A UNHCR refugee protection officer told the BBC he was unaware of the murder and could not comment.
Seventeen years ago up to 800,000 people died in a genocide in Rwanda.
Since then, the country has been feted by Western donors and investors, but human rights groups say they are concerned about growing political repression.
Announcement of the death inyenyerinews Editor
http://inyenyerinews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226:announcement-of-the-death-inyenyerinews-editor&catid=3:newsflash
The management of Inyenyeri News announce the sad news of the death of the chief editor Charles Ingabire.
Our Chief Editor died as result of injuries sustained when he was shot by unidentified men in night of the 30th November 2011, in Kampala – Uganda.
The Inyenyeri News management has no doubt about the identity and motives of Mr Ingabire ’s assassins. We are aware of continuous threats he had received from member of the Rwandan government agents against his life. Recently he was attacked, beaten and sustained serious injuries which required 2 weeks of hospital treatments.
During this attack his laptop was stolen and enabled his attackers to access codes of our website and put it down for few days before we managed to re-gain its control.
Mr Ingabire’s name become an addition to the list of many others Rwandan journalist and politicians who were assassinated for publically criticizing the Rwandan dictatorial regime.
The Inyenyeri News management denounce these continuous and malicious killings, oppressions and threatening of Rwandan government to critics including journalist.
We urge the international community, international institutions, donors to make strong pressure and sanctions to get Rwandan government to allow fundamental Rights.
We urge the International Criminal Court to investigate the involvement of the Rwandan governments in continuous and growing assassinations and assassination attempts against journalist, politicians and human rights activist.
We urge all governments under their international obligation and moral values to protect Rwandan Refugees who are seeking protection against the Rwandan government assassins.
We are grateful to the effort that the Uganda Police is currently making to bring to the light the assassination our editor.
We thank you all who have sent us your support in this difficult time.
The Inyenyeri News management would like to ensure all its readers and supporters that we will continue to inform you and give you news about our country. We believe that good journalist can make an important contribution to achieve freedom and democracy.
Editor of censored Rwandan paper is assassinated
http://www.cpj.org/2010/06/editor-of-censored-rwandan-paper-is-assassinated.php
New York, June 25, 2010—A top editor of an independent Rwandan newspaper that was recently banned by the government was assassinated in front of his home late Thursday, according to local journalists and news reports. An assailant shot Jean-Léonard Rugambage, left, acting editor of Umuvugizi as he drove through the gate of his home in the capital, Kigali, around 10 p.m., Rwanda National police spokesperson Eric Kayiranga told CPJ.
“At the moment, we are yet to establish who is involved in the killing and police are currently conducting investigations and we will provide information as it comes,” he said.
Rwanda’s Media High Council suspended Umuvugizi’s right to publish in April. Soon after Umuvugizi moved online, its Web site became inaccessible to domestic visitors. Censorship of the publication, one of the few critical voices in the country, has come in the run-up to the August presidential election.
Rugambage had reported to friends and colleagues that he was being followed and had received phone threats, local journalists told CPJ. Jean-Bosco Gasasira, the exiled editor of Umuvugizi, told the U.S. government-funded Voice of America that he believed the killing was reprisal for a recent story alleging government involvement in the shooting of a former Rwandan army commander in South Africa.
“The brutal murder of Jean-Léonard Rugambage deals a savage blow to Rwanda’s already beleaguered independent media,” said Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “It comes amid a government crackdown on critical reporting ahead of the August presidential election, and raises serious questions about the safety of independent journalists in the country. The authorities must ensure that all those behind this murder, including the masterminds, are brought to justice swiftly.”
As the last Umuvugizi journalist remaining in Rwanda, Rugambage represented the newspaper in hearings in several court cases the newspaper is facing over its critical coverage of government affairs, according to local journalists.
Before joining Umuvugizi, Rugambage was a reporter for the now-defunct independent tabloid Umuco. He experienced 11 months of imprisonment after producing a story alleging mismanagement and witness tampering in Rwanda's traditional courts for suspects of the 1994 genocide. Rugambage, 34, is survived by a wife and a two-year-old daughter, according to local journalists.
Six arrested over shooting of Rwandan in South Africa
21 June 2010 Last updated at 10:05 GMT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10363955
Six people have been arrested in South Africa over the shooting of a Rwandan dissident, police say.
Police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo refused to give the nationalities of the suspects but said more arrests were likely.
Former army chief of staff Lt Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa is recovering in hospital after what his wife called an assassination attempt.
Rwanda has denied any involvement in the shooting in Johannesburg.
The BBC's Karen Allen in Johannesburg says a Rwandan national known to Lt Gen Nyamwasa is believed to be among those detained.
FAUSTIN KAYUMBA NYAMWASA
• 1994: Helped bring Paul Kagame to power and end genocide
• 1998: Appointed army chief of staff
• 2006: French judge accuses him of shooting down plane of Rwanda's ex-President Habyarimana in 1994
• 2008: Spain accuses him of links to death of Spanish nuns
• Feb 2010: Leaves post as ambassador to India, flees to South Africa
• Accused of links to grenade attacks in Kigali
• June 2010: Shot in Johannesburg
Brig Mariemuthoo said the six would be charged with attempted murder but declined to give any more details, saying the investigations had reached a "sensitive stage".
Sources close to Lt Gen Nyamwasa told the BBC on Sunday that he was recovering and should be able to leave hospital in a few days.
Once a close confidante of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Lt Gen Nyamwasa fled to South Africa in February and has since accused the president of corruption - charges Mr Kagame denies.
Rwanda's government accuses Lt Gen Nyamwasa of links to grenade attacks in Kigali earlier this year and has previously tried to secure his extradition.
Lt Gen Nyamwasa has denied the allegations.
There have been several recent defections from the military ahead of elections due in August.
'Grabbed the gun'
The Nyamwasas had been returning from a shopping trip at around midday on Saturday (1000 GMT) when the gunman approached their car.
“Start Quote
[Mr Kagame] said it in parliament that he will actually kill my husband”
End Quote Rosette Nyamwasa
"[The gunman] spoke to my driver, but he wanted space to be able to shoot my husband," Rosette Nyamwasa told the BBC.
"Then when my husband bent, he shot. And fortunately, it went into the stomach and not in the head.
"My husband got out immediately.
"And he grabbed the gun. In that kind of scuffle, the guy couldn't cock the gun."
She added that Mr Kagame wanted her husband dead.
"[Mr Kagame] said it in parliament that he will actually kill my husband, that wherever he is he will follow him and kill him," she said.
But Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement that Mr Kagame's government "does not condone violence" and said she trusted South Africa to investigate the shooting thoroughly.
Lt Gen Nyamwasa also claimed the judiciary was compromised and told the BBC in a recent interview that the judges were now "President Paul Kagame's property".
A couple of months after Lt Gen Nyamwasa went into exile along with another top military officer, Mr Kagame reshuffled the military leadership.
At the time, two high-ranking officers were also suspended and put under house arrest.
Arrest warrants
Lt Gen Nyamwasa played an important role in the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by Mr Kagame, which put a stop to the killing and which is now in power.
But France and Spain have issued arrest warrants against Mr Nyamwasa for his alleged role in the lead-up to and during the genocide, along with other senior RPF figures.
Mr Kagame, in power for the past 16 years, is viewed by many in the West as one of Africa's more dynamic leaders.
However critics have raised concerns about his more authoritarian tendencies and the government has recently been accused of harassing the opposition ahead of the elections.
The United Nations Ad Hoc Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR-TPIR): International justice or judicially-constructed victors’ impunity?
April 9, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. – The director of the International Humanitarian Law Institute, Professor Peter Erlinder, announced the publication of a book-length research work by DePaul University Law School Journal for Social Justice today: “The United Nations Ad Hoc Tribunal for Rwanda: International Justice or Judicially-Constructed Victors’ Impunity.”
Based on previously un-published U.N. and U.S. government documents, in the nature of the Pentagon Papers or WikiLeaks exposures, the heavily footnoted narrative is based on documents only in evidence at the U.N. Tribunal for Rwanda and published on the IHLI website: www.rwandadocumentsproject.net. The documents explain how the current RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) government became the dominant military power in the country more than a year before the Rwandan Genocide with outside assistance from Uganda, U.K. and the Pentagon.
The documents include ICTR (International Tribunal for Rwanda) evidence that the U.S. ambassador to Rwanda personally warned Kagame in late 1993 that mass killings would result if the RPF broke the February 1993 ceasefire, because of the example of the mass violence that erupted in Burundi in October 1993, when the first Hutu president was assassinated by RPF allies.
The documents also include sworn ICTR testimony of former RPF officers and members who testified that Rwandan President Paul Kagame ordered the assassination of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi on April 6, 1994, that touched off the mass violence predicted by the U.S. ambassador. Affidavits from a former FBI agent and the chief ICTR investigators are also duplicated in the document.
The documents also show that U.N. Gen. Dallaire reported that “there was no coup” after the assassinations; Kagame repeatedly refused ceasefire requests to stop the killings; and according to Dallaire, Kagame would not use superior military force to stop the civilian killings touched off by the massacres because “he was winning the war.”
According to IHLI Director Erlinder, who served as lead defense counsel in the Military-1 case at the U.N. Tribunal for Rwanda and who was released from a Rwandan prison on medical grounds only after an international campaign in the summer of 2010:
“These U.N. documents are the reason Kagame had me arrested. I have never denied that tens of thousands of Tutsi were killed in ways that fit the definition of ‘genocide,’ but ICTR evidence shows that the RPF were the militarily superior aggressors and took advantage of the predicted civilian massacres as part of their war plan. Had the RPF not been made militarily dominant by outside support and the two presidents not been assassinated in the RPF assault for power, the ICTR evidence suggests that the Rwandan genocide would never have occurred.”
For more information, contact Professor Peter Erlinder, Director, International Humanitarian Law Institute, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN, USA 55105, (651) 290-6384, www.rwandadocumentsproject.net. This story was first published by the France-Rwanda Tribune.
Rwanda Genocide: Erlinder v. Kagame in the court of public opinion
http://sfbayview.com/2011/rwanda-genocide-erlinder-v-kagame-in-the-court-of-public-opinion/
April 15, 2011
by Ann Garrison
KPFA Weekend News April 9, 2011
Law professor and former National Lawyers Guild President Peter Erlinder’s case against Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his official history of the Rwanda Genocide continues in the court of public opinion, with Erlinder refusing to return to work at the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda for fear Kagame might have him assassinated. Erlinder has also published an 80-page analysis of documents which he says prove Kagame’s culpability for the Rwanda Genocide and ensuing Congo Wars. KPFA News spoke to him on Saturday, April 9.
Transcript
KPFA Weekend News Anchor David Rosenberg: April 6 was the 17th anniversary of events that triggered the massacres that the world came to know as the Rwanda Genocide. The history of the 1994 genocide and the ensuing war in Rwanda’s resource rich neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo, are fiercely disputed by a growing number of scholars, journalists and human rights investigators and by Rwandan and Congolese opposition leaders, genocide survivors, exiles and refugees.
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Rwanda’s 43-year-old opposition leader and mother of three, remains in Rwanda’s 1930 maximum security prison, charged with terrorism and disputing the official Rwanda Genocide history. And William Mitchell law professor and former National Lawyers Guild President Peter Erlinder has now published an 80-page footnoted and documented report in the DePaul University Law School’s Journal for Social Justice in which he argues that Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front regime bear responsibility for the Rwanda Genocide and Congo Wars.
Last year Kagame arrested and imprisoned Erlinder in Rwanda after he had traveled there to defend Ingabire, and last week the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda came close to sanctioning him for refusing to return to Arusha, Tanzania, to defend another client. Erlinder had said that he would not return because Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front agents might well assassinate, kidnap or disappear him if he did. The court did not acknowledge Erlinder’s claim that his life would be in danger in Arusha, but they did excuse him after his doctor reported that he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome as a consequence of his arrest and imprisonment in Rwanda last year.
KPFA’s Ann Garrison spoke to Professor Erlinder by phone from his office at William Mitchell College of Law, in St. Paul, Minneapolis:
On June 14, 2010, 17 days into his ordeal in the notorious Kigali prison known as “1930,” Peter Erlinder prepares a response while prosecutor Jean Bosco Mutangana argues that he should be denied bail. The American law professor is dressed in the pink Rwandan prison uniform.
Ann Garrison: Peter Erlinder, this story is still obscure to many KPFA listeners. Could you explain why Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, would conceivably want to assassinate, kidnap or disappear you?
Peter Erlinder: Well, during my work at the U.N. Tribunal, I had an opportunity to have access to the previously secret United Nations files that were kept by U.N. personnel in Rwanda during the time that’s known as the genocide. And those documents tell a completely different story than the story the world has heard about what happened in Rwanda during that time.
Also I was able to link that to U.S. documents from the State Department, the CIA and the Pentagon and the documents from other countries. And I used those documents to defend my client and he and other military officers were acquitted of the charge of conspiracy to commit genocide, which means there was no plan on the part of the previous government and military.
Ann Garrison: And do the documents that you’ve assembled demonstrate that President Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front regime are most responsible for the mass slaughter of 1994, which came to be the principle justification of the Kagame regime?
Peter Erlinder: Yeah, what the documents show is that the RPF were the dominant military power in Rwanda. They were responsible for assassinating the Rwandan and Burundian presidents, which touched off the mass violence. They were in a position to stop the mass violence and didn’t do so because of their desire to win the war. And then once they did seize power, continued carrying out violence against civilians.
Ann Garrison: And what do those documents that you’ve assembled say about the ensuing Congo War?
Peter Erlinder: Well, the documents make clear that the RPF went on to carry out an invasion of the eastern Congo along with Uganda and then essentially to control the eastern Congo, which they do to this day. And that was accomplished because of ongoing support from the Pentagon, and then, unfortunately, it becomes clear that this support was covered up as the ICTR began to develop.
Ann Garrison: Links to Professor Erlinder’s report on the Rwanda Genocide and Congo War can be found on the websites of the San Francisco Bay View and AfrobeatRadio.net. For Pacifica, KPFA and AfrobeatRadio, I’m Ann Garrison.
San Francisco writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Global Research, Colored Opinions, Black Star News, the Newsline EA (East Africa) and her own blog, Ann Garrison, and produces for AfrobeatRadio on WBAI-NYC, Weekend News on KPFA and her own YouTube Channel, AnnieGetYourGang. She can be reached at ann@afrobeatradio.com. This story first appeared on her blog.
Mourners at the requiem of Ingabire. Most of them spent the 20 minutes
it took to end the funeral hiding their faces. PHOTO BY ISAAC KASAMANI
Dread, whispers shroud Rwandan scribe’s funeral
By ANDREW BAGALA
Posted Saturday, December 3 2011 at 18:21
Dreadful grief was an understatement at the funeral service of the Rwandan journalist Charles Ingabire yesterday afternoon. It was more like the shroud on his death had descended on family members, friends and well-wishers bidding him final respects.
One by one, the mourners walked into Evangelical Restoration Church in Bakuli, many avoiding eye contacts with strangers and only speaking in hushed tones.
The funeral service that started about 2:30pm lasted for only about 20 minutes and had only two speakers.
First to speak was Pastor Shedrack Mporana, also a Rwandan, who described the day the editor of Rwanda’s Inyenyeri online news web site was shot as a sad one but urged mourners not to give into fear.
A second speaker, who only wanted to be identified as Pastor Yeremiya, also Rwandan, said many mourners wanted to pay their last respects to the deceased but they could not do so for security reasons.
“If you shoot someone dead, you are only killing the flesh not the spirit. We should not fear those who kill the flesh,” Pastor Yeremiya said.
No photos of identities
Several mourners we spoke to alleged being persecuted by government back home but none wanted their photographs taken or identities revealed.
Pastor Yeremiya, who had earlier moved around reminding the mourners to be weary of spies among them “intending to take information to their masters,” eventually let the cat out of the bag when he announced at the podium, “There is someone who has sent spies to spy on us.”
Among the mourners were men in civilian clothes, most of whom had security gadgets. The men could be seen communicating on walkie-talkies as the service went on.
Ingabire, 32, was shot twice in the lower abdomen late in the night of November 30, by unknown people in Makies II Bar at Bukesa-Kikoni near Makerere, a Kampala suburb.
Police found five cartridges of spent bullets, which they suspected to have been discharged by a Sub Machine Gun that was used to shoot Ingabire, at the scene of crime.
Police also said they have arrested two suspects now in their custody to help with investigations.
Ingabire had earlier fled Rwanda for Uganda for fear that his life was in danger for being critical of Rwanda president Paul Kagame and his government.
He was buried yesterday in a government cemetery at Lusaze in Rubaga Division, Kampala. He is survived with a wife and a five-month old baby.
No Rwandan government official attended the funeral or burial.
abagala@ug.nationmedia.com
Rwandan journalist Charles Ingabire killed in Uganda
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16012659
A Rwandan journalist living as a political refugee in Uganda has been shot dead, police say.
Charles Ingabire was gunned down in a bar in Kampala on Wednesday, but details are only now emerging.
He was editor of Inyenyeri News, an online publication critical of the government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Several critics of Mr Kagame have been attacked or killed in recent years. The government denies any responsibility.
Police say he had two bullet wounds and they are questioning a security guard and barmaid who worked at the bar.
"They're helping with investigations," Ibn Senkumbi told news agency Reuters.
Police say Mr Ingabire was drinking with an unidentified man at the bar near Makerere University when has killed.
They say they have recovered Mr Ingabire's phone, which they say should tell them who he made contact with prior to his death, says the BBC's Joshua Mmali.
Well-known Rwandan exiles were quick to point the finger at Rwandan security forces in posts on social media websites.
The Rwandan government has rejected allegations that it targets its opponents abroad as "preposterous".
'Very very insecure'
Godwin Buwa, a legal adviser at Uganda's Refugee Law Project, who had assisted Mr Ingabire, told the BBC he was "deeply saddened" by his loss.
"He told me quite a number of times how insecure he [was] and we co-ordinated to find some kind of security for him," he said.
He said Mr Ingabire had been rejected as a candidate for resettlement by the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR - despite "ample evidence that he was very very insecure".
A UNHCR refugee protection officer told the BBC he was unaware of the murder and could not comment.
Seventeen years ago up to 800,000 people died in a genocide in Rwanda.
Since then, the country has been feted by Western donors and investors, but human rights groups say they are concerned about growing political repression.
Announcement of the death inyenyerinews Editor
http://inyenyerinews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226:announcement-of-the-death-inyenyerinews-editor&catid=3:newsflash
The management of Inyenyeri News announce the sad news of the death of the chief editor Charles Ingabire.
Our Chief Editor died as result of injuries sustained when he was shot by unidentified men in night of the 30th November 2011, in Kampala – Uganda.
The Inyenyeri News management has no doubt about the identity and motives of Mr Ingabire ’s assassins. We are aware of continuous threats he had received from member of the Rwandan government agents against his life. Recently he was attacked, beaten and sustained serious injuries which required 2 weeks of hospital treatments.
During this attack his laptop was stolen and enabled his attackers to access codes of our website and put it down for few days before we managed to re-gain its control.
Mr Ingabire’s name become an addition to the list of many others Rwandan journalist and politicians who were assassinated for publically criticizing the Rwandan dictatorial regime.
The Inyenyeri News management denounce these continuous and malicious killings, oppressions and threatening of Rwandan government to critics including journalist.
We urge the international community, international institutions, donors to make strong pressure and sanctions to get Rwandan government to allow fundamental Rights.
We urge the International Criminal Court to investigate the involvement of the Rwandan governments in continuous and growing assassinations and assassination attempts against journalist, politicians and human rights activist.
We urge all governments under their international obligation and moral values to protect Rwandan Refugees who are seeking protection against the Rwandan government assassins.
We are grateful to the effort that the Uganda Police is currently making to bring to the light the assassination our editor.
We thank you all who have sent us your support in this difficult time.
The Inyenyeri News management would like to ensure all its readers and supporters that we will continue to inform you and give you news about our country. We believe that good journalist can make an important contribution to achieve freedom and democracy.
Editor of censored Rwandan paper is assassinated
http://www.cpj.org/2010/06/editor-of-censored-rwandan-paper-is-assassinated.php
New York, June 25, 2010—A top editor of an independent Rwandan newspaper that was recently banned by the government was assassinated in front of his home late Thursday, according to local journalists and news reports. An assailant shot Jean-Léonard Rugambage, left, acting editor of Umuvugizi as he drove through the gate of his home in the capital, Kigali, around 10 p.m., Rwanda National police spokesperson Eric Kayiranga told CPJ.
“At the moment, we are yet to establish who is involved in the killing and police are currently conducting investigations and we will provide information as it comes,” he said.
Rwanda’s Media High Council suspended Umuvugizi’s right to publish in April. Soon after Umuvugizi moved online, its Web site became inaccessible to domestic visitors. Censorship of the publication, one of the few critical voices in the country, has come in the run-up to the August presidential election.
Rugambage had reported to friends and colleagues that he was being followed and had received phone threats, local journalists told CPJ. Jean-Bosco Gasasira, the exiled editor of Umuvugizi, told the U.S. government-funded Voice of America that he believed the killing was reprisal for a recent story alleging government involvement in the shooting of a former Rwandan army commander in South Africa.
“The brutal murder of Jean-Léonard Rugambage deals a savage blow to Rwanda’s already beleaguered independent media,” said Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “It comes amid a government crackdown on critical reporting ahead of the August presidential election, and raises serious questions about the safety of independent journalists in the country. The authorities must ensure that all those behind this murder, including the masterminds, are brought to justice swiftly.”
As the last Umuvugizi journalist remaining in Rwanda, Rugambage represented the newspaper in hearings in several court cases the newspaper is facing over its critical coverage of government affairs, according to local journalists.
Before joining Umuvugizi, Rugambage was a reporter for the now-defunct independent tabloid Umuco. He experienced 11 months of imprisonment after producing a story alleging mismanagement and witness tampering in Rwanda's traditional courts for suspects of the 1994 genocide. Rugambage, 34, is survived by a wife and a two-year-old daughter, according to local journalists.
Six arrested over shooting of Rwandan in South Africa
21 June 2010 Last updated at 10:05 GMT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10363955
Six people have been arrested in South Africa over the shooting of a Rwandan dissident, police say.
Police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo refused to give the nationalities of the suspects but said more arrests were likely.
Former army chief of staff Lt Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa is recovering in hospital after what his wife called an assassination attempt.
Rwanda has denied any involvement in the shooting in Johannesburg.
The BBC's Karen Allen in Johannesburg says a Rwandan national known to Lt Gen Nyamwasa is believed to be among those detained.
FAUSTIN KAYUMBA NYAMWASA
• 1994: Helped bring Paul Kagame to power and end genocide
• 1998: Appointed army chief of staff
• 2006: French judge accuses him of shooting down plane of Rwanda's ex-President Habyarimana in 1994
• 2008: Spain accuses him of links to death of Spanish nuns
• Feb 2010: Leaves post as ambassador to India, flees to South Africa
• Accused of links to grenade attacks in Kigali
• June 2010: Shot in Johannesburg
Brig Mariemuthoo said the six would be charged with attempted murder but declined to give any more details, saying the investigations had reached a "sensitive stage".
Sources close to Lt Gen Nyamwasa told the BBC on Sunday that he was recovering and should be able to leave hospital in a few days.
Once a close confidante of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Lt Gen Nyamwasa fled to South Africa in February and has since accused the president of corruption - charges Mr Kagame denies.
Rwanda's government accuses Lt Gen Nyamwasa of links to grenade attacks in Kigali earlier this year and has previously tried to secure his extradition.
Lt Gen Nyamwasa has denied the allegations.
There have been several recent defections from the military ahead of elections due in August.
'Grabbed the gun'
The Nyamwasas had been returning from a shopping trip at around midday on Saturday (1000 GMT) when the gunman approached their car.
“Start Quote
[Mr Kagame] said it in parliament that he will actually kill my husband”
End Quote Rosette Nyamwasa
"[The gunman] spoke to my driver, but he wanted space to be able to shoot my husband," Rosette Nyamwasa told the BBC.
"Then when my husband bent, he shot. And fortunately, it went into the stomach and not in the head.
"My husband got out immediately.
"And he grabbed the gun. In that kind of scuffle, the guy couldn't cock the gun."
She added that Mr Kagame wanted her husband dead.
"[Mr Kagame] said it in parliament that he will actually kill my husband, that wherever he is he will follow him and kill him," she said.
But Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement that Mr Kagame's government "does not condone violence" and said she trusted South Africa to investigate the shooting thoroughly.
Lt Gen Nyamwasa also claimed the judiciary was compromised and told the BBC in a recent interview that the judges were now "President Paul Kagame's property".
A couple of months after Lt Gen Nyamwasa went into exile along with another top military officer, Mr Kagame reshuffled the military leadership.
At the time, two high-ranking officers were also suspended and put under house arrest.
Arrest warrants
Lt Gen Nyamwasa played an important role in the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by Mr Kagame, which put a stop to the killing and which is now in power.
But France and Spain have issued arrest warrants against Mr Nyamwasa for his alleged role in the lead-up to and during the genocide, along with other senior RPF figures.
Mr Kagame, in power for the past 16 years, is viewed by many in the West as one of Africa's more dynamic leaders.
However critics have raised concerns about his more authoritarian tendencies and the government has recently been accused of harassing the opposition ahead of the elections.
The United Nations Ad Hoc Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR-TPIR): International justice or judicially-constructed victors’ impunity?
April 9, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. – The director of the International Humanitarian Law Institute, Professor Peter Erlinder, announced the publication of a book-length research work by DePaul University Law School Journal for Social Justice today: “The United Nations Ad Hoc Tribunal for Rwanda: International Justice or Judicially-Constructed Victors’ Impunity.”
Based on previously un-published U.N. and U.S. government documents, in the nature of the Pentagon Papers or WikiLeaks exposures, the heavily footnoted narrative is based on documents only in evidence at the U.N. Tribunal for Rwanda and published on the IHLI website: www.rwandadocumentsproject.net. The documents explain how the current RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) government became the dominant military power in the country more than a year before the Rwandan Genocide with outside assistance from Uganda, U.K. and the Pentagon.
The documents include ICTR (International Tribunal for Rwanda) evidence that the U.S. ambassador to Rwanda personally warned Kagame in late 1993 that mass killings would result if the RPF broke the February 1993 ceasefire, because of the example of the mass violence that erupted in Burundi in October 1993, when the first Hutu president was assassinated by RPF allies.
The documents also include sworn ICTR testimony of former RPF officers and members who testified that Rwandan President Paul Kagame ordered the assassination of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi on April 6, 1994, that touched off the mass violence predicted by the U.S. ambassador. Affidavits from a former FBI agent and the chief ICTR investigators are also duplicated in the document.
The documents also show that U.N. Gen. Dallaire reported that “there was no coup” after the assassinations; Kagame repeatedly refused ceasefire requests to stop the killings; and according to Dallaire, Kagame would not use superior military force to stop the civilian killings touched off by the massacres because “he was winning the war.”
According to IHLI Director Erlinder, who served as lead defense counsel in the Military-1 case at the U.N. Tribunal for Rwanda and who was released from a Rwandan prison on medical grounds only after an international campaign in the summer of 2010:
“These U.N. documents are the reason Kagame had me arrested. I have never denied that tens of thousands of Tutsi were killed in ways that fit the definition of ‘genocide,’ but ICTR evidence shows that the RPF were the militarily superior aggressors and took advantage of the predicted civilian massacres as part of their war plan. Had the RPF not been made militarily dominant by outside support and the two presidents not been assassinated in the RPF assault for power, the ICTR evidence suggests that the Rwandan genocide would never have occurred.”
For more information, contact Professor Peter Erlinder, Director, International Humanitarian Law Institute, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN, USA 55105, (651) 290-6384, www.rwandadocumentsproject.net. This story was first published by the France-Rwanda Tribune.
Rwanda Genocide: Erlinder v. Kagame in the court of public opinion
http://sfbayview.com/2011/rwanda-genocide-erlinder-v-kagame-in-the-court-of-public-opinion/
April 15, 2011
by Ann Garrison
KPFA Weekend News April 9, 2011
Law professor and former National Lawyers Guild President Peter Erlinder’s case against Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his official history of the Rwanda Genocide continues in the court of public opinion, with Erlinder refusing to return to work at the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda for fear Kagame might have him assassinated. Erlinder has also published an 80-page analysis of documents which he says prove Kagame’s culpability for the Rwanda Genocide and ensuing Congo Wars. KPFA News spoke to him on Saturday, April 9.
Transcript
KPFA Weekend News Anchor David Rosenberg: April 6 was the 17th anniversary of events that triggered the massacres that the world came to know as the Rwanda Genocide. The history of the 1994 genocide and the ensuing war in Rwanda’s resource rich neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo, are fiercely disputed by a growing number of scholars, journalists and human rights investigators and by Rwandan and Congolese opposition leaders, genocide survivors, exiles and refugees.
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Rwanda’s 43-year-old opposition leader and mother of three, remains in Rwanda’s 1930 maximum security prison, charged with terrorism and disputing the official Rwanda Genocide history. And William Mitchell law professor and former National Lawyers Guild President Peter Erlinder has now published an 80-page footnoted and documented report in the DePaul University Law School’s Journal for Social Justice in which he argues that Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front regime bear responsibility for the Rwanda Genocide and Congo Wars.
Last year Kagame arrested and imprisoned Erlinder in Rwanda after he had traveled there to defend Ingabire, and last week the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda came close to sanctioning him for refusing to return to Arusha, Tanzania, to defend another client. Erlinder had said that he would not return because Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front agents might well assassinate, kidnap or disappear him if he did. The court did not acknowledge Erlinder’s claim that his life would be in danger in Arusha, but they did excuse him after his doctor reported that he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome as a consequence of his arrest and imprisonment in Rwanda last year.
KPFA’s Ann Garrison spoke to Professor Erlinder by phone from his office at William Mitchell College of Law, in St. Paul, Minneapolis:
On June 14, 2010, 17 days into his ordeal in the notorious Kigali prison known as “1930,” Peter Erlinder prepares a response while prosecutor Jean Bosco Mutangana argues that he should be denied bail. The American law professor is dressed in the pink Rwandan prison uniform.
Ann Garrison: Peter Erlinder, this story is still obscure to many KPFA listeners. Could you explain why Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, would conceivably want to assassinate, kidnap or disappear you?
Peter Erlinder: Well, during my work at the U.N. Tribunal, I had an opportunity to have access to the previously secret United Nations files that were kept by U.N. personnel in Rwanda during the time that’s known as the genocide. And those documents tell a completely different story than the story the world has heard about what happened in Rwanda during that time.
Also I was able to link that to U.S. documents from the State Department, the CIA and the Pentagon and the documents from other countries. And I used those documents to defend my client and he and other military officers were acquitted of the charge of conspiracy to commit genocide, which means there was no plan on the part of the previous government and military.
Ann Garrison: And do the documents that you’ve assembled demonstrate that President Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front regime are most responsible for the mass slaughter of 1994, which came to be the principle justification of the Kagame regime?
Peter Erlinder: Yeah, what the documents show is that the RPF were the dominant military power in Rwanda. They were responsible for assassinating the Rwandan and Burundian presidents, which touched off the mass violence. They were in a position to stop the mass violence and didn’t do so because of their desire to win the war. And then once they did seize power, continued carrying out violence against civilians.
Ann Garrison: And what do those documents that you’ve assembled say about the ensuing Congo War?
Peter Erlinder: Well, the documents make clear that the RPF went on to carry out an invasion of the eastern Congo along with Uganda and then essentially to control the eastern Congo, which they do to this day. And that was accomplished because of ongoing support from the Pentagon, and then, unfortunately, it becomes clear that this support was covered up as the ICTR began to develop.
Ann Garrison: Links to Professor Erlinder’s report on the Rwanda Genocide and Congo War can be found on the websites of the San Francisco Bay View and AfrobeatRadio.net. For Pacifica, KPFA and AfrobeatRadio, I’m Ann Garrison.
San Francisco writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Global Research, Colored Opinions, Black Star News, the Newsline EA (East Africa) and her own blog, Ann Garrison, and produces for AfrobeatRadio on WBAI-NYC, Weekend News on KPFA and her own YouTube Channel, AnnieGetYourGang. She can be reached at ann@afrobeatradio.com. This story first appeared on her blog.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Pastor arrested after conversion of Muslims in India
Pastor arrested after conversion of Muslims in India
Posted: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 12:26 (GMT)
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pastor.arrested.after.conversion.of.muslims.in.india/28938.htm
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has called for the immediate release of a pastor in India accused of bribing Muslims to convert to Christianity.
Chander Mani Khanna, who pastors All Saints Church in Srinagar, was called before a Sharia court accused of converting Muslim children by offering bribes.
A video appeared on YouTube apparently showing him baptising Muslim converts. Witnesses claim that police beat the converts to make them give evidence against the pastor.
According to AsiaNews, police arrested Pastor Khanna for promoting enmity between religious groups and outraging religious feeling.
Although Pastor Khanna denies all charges, he remains in police custody and there are fears that a fatwa may be issued against him.
The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), which his church belongs to, has written to the Government of Jammu and Indian Kashmir asking them to intervene on the pastor's behalf.
The GCIC believes the charges were brought against the pastor because he failed to get a local Muslim's son into the Christian school of his choice.
The church body said that tensions have risen in the region following the burning of a Koran in a Florida church this year.
Bishop Nazir-Ali, patron of Release International, knows Pastor Khanna personally. He described him as a "respected" priest who would "never use underhand methods to evangelise".
"I am astonished that such a person can be arrested by an India committed to religious freedom and democracy," said Bishop Nazir-Ali.
"I call not only for his immediate and unconditional release but also for protection for him and his family.
"Let us pray that freedom and justice will prevail in Kashmir for everyone: Muslim, Christian and Hindu."
Posted: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 12:26 (GMT)
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pastor.arrested.after.conversion.of.muslims.in.india/28938.htm
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has called for the immediate release of a pastor in India accused of bribing Muslims to convert to Christianity.
Chander Mani Khanna, who pastors All Saints Church in Srinagar, was called before a Sharia court accused of converting Muslim children by offering bribes.
A video appeared on YouTube apparently showing him baptising Muslim converts. Witnesses claim that police beat the converts to make them give evidence against the pastor.
According to AsiaNews, police arrested Pastor Khanna for promoting enmity between religious groups and outraging religious feeling.
Although Pastor Khanna denies all charges, he remains in police custody and there are fears that a fatwa may be issued against him.
The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), which his church belongs to, has written to the Government of Jammu and Indian Kashmir asking them to intervene on the pastor's behalf.
The GCIC believes the charges were brought against the pastor because he failed to get a local Muslim's son into the Christian school of his choice.
The church body said that tensions have risen in the region following the burning of a Koran in a Florida church this year.
Bishop Nazir-Ali, patron of Release International, knows Pastor Khanna personally. He described him as a "respected" priest who would "never use underhand methods to evangelise".
"I am astonished that such a person can be arrested by an India committed to religious freedom and democracy," said Bishop Nazir-Ali.
"I call not only for his immediate and unconditional release but also for protection for him and his family.
"Let us pray that freedom and justice will prevail in Kashmir for everyone: Muslim, Christian and Hindu."
Christians contemplate their future in secular Europe
Christians contemplate their future in secular Europe
Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011, 20:00 (GMT)
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.contemplate.their.future.in.secular.europe/28950.htm
Christians have been told they must find a framework for promoting their beliefs if they are to confront the challenge of aggressive secularisation and the erosion of Christian values across all spheres of life.
Opening the Beyond Individualism conference on Friday, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali said it was “amazing” that a Christian nurse in Britain today could be suspended for offering to pray for a patient, when it was Christians who had set in place many of the institutions and public services now taken for granted.
He warned that the Christian values inherent in Europe’s heritage have been eroded by a process of “aggressive secularisation” that Christians must understand if they are to challenge it.
While politicians offer “thin” values like respect and tolerance, the bishop said such “political mantras” were “not enough for society to be cohesive”.
Instead, Christianity presents European nations with a means to move beyond the individualism they have come to be characterised by, he argued.
“To have individualism without any sense of mutuality is very damaging for society,” he said.
Bishop Nazir-Ali took issue with attempts to detach concepts like equality and diversity from their Christian roots, arguing that they could only be properly understood from the vantage point of Christianity, with its emphasis on the common origins of all human beings and their intrinsic value as God’s creation.
Diversity, he said, should be understood as “Christian hospitality”, rather than multi-culturalism, which has “led to the segregation and isolation of communities”, he maintained.
Bishop Nazir-Ali went on to say that respect for individual conscience “had not been in the fore” in recent legislation in Britain.
Reflecting concern over recent court cases involving Christians, he said it was “unacceptable” that the law had “ignored” the rights of Christians.
“We must respect the autonomy of public law but we also need to argue for law to respect conscience,” he told the conference.
Social critic and author Dr Os Guinness said that one of the greatest issues facing the whole world today was how to live with our differences.
He said the emergence of a global public square meant that Christians need to speak increasingly with one “constructive” voice.
Rather than contradict civil liberty, Dr Guinness said that strong religious convictions could complement it.
However, Christians must examine some of the “unwise” responses they have made in the past “to make sure we do better”.
He criticised Christians for being too politicised, partisan, and self-interested at times.
Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011, 20:00 (GMT)
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.contemplate.their.future.in.secular.europe/28950.htm
Christians have been told they must find a framework for promoting their beliefs if they are to confront the challenge of aggressive secularisation and the erosion of Christian values across all spheres of life.
Opening the Beyond Individualism conference on Friday, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali said it was “amazing” that a Christian nurse in Britain today could be suspended for offering to pray for a patient, when it was Christians who had set in place many of the institutions and public services now taken for granted.
He warned that the Christian values inherent in Europe’s heritage have been eroded by a process of “aggressive secularisation” that Christians must understand if they are to challenge it.
While politicians offer “thin” values like respect and tolerance, the bishop said such “political mantras” were “not enough for society to be cohesive”.
Instead, Christianity presents European nations with a means to move beyond the individualism they have come to be characterised by, he argued.
“To have individualism without any sense of mutuality is very damaging for society,” he said.
Bishop Nazir-Ali took issue with attempts to detach concepts like equality and diversity from their Christian roots, arguing that they could only be properly understood from the vantage point of Christianity, with its emphasis on the common origins of all human beings and their intrinsic value as God’s creation.
Diversity, he said, should be understood as “Christian hospitality”, rather than multi-culturalism, which has “led to the segregation and isolation of communities”, he maintained.
Bishop Nazir-Ali went on to say that respect for individual conscience “had not been in the fore” in recent legislation in Britain.
Reflecting concern over recent court cases involving Christians, he said it was “unacceptable” that the law had “ignored” the rights of Christians.
“We must respect the autonomy of public law but we also need to argue for law to respect conscience,” he told the conference.
Social critic and author Dr Os Guinness said that one of the greatest issues facing the whole world today was how to live with our differences.
He said the emergence of a global public square meant that Christians need to speak increasingly with one “constructive” voice.
Rather than contradict civil liberty, Dr Guinness said that strong religious convictions could complement it.
However, Christians must examine some of the “unwise” responses they have made in the past “to make sure we do better”.
He criticised Christians for being too politicised, partisan, and self-interested at times.
US hypocrisy Antics: From burning bibles, and cross removal to Obama's God-less Thanksgiving Speech
First read:
But again which God should he thank, Christian, Hindu, Atheist, Jajja Muwanga, Native American, Allah? since "He is not a Christian" as US Conservatives claim, why then should he thank your God? And again is that not Christianity by FORCE rather than Grace?Kato Mivule
Obama's God-less Thanksgiving Speech Draws Ire
By Anugrah Kumar | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > U.S.|Sat, Nov. 26 2011 09:21 AM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/obamas-god-less-thanksgiving-speech-draws-ire-63080/
Angry reactions are pouring in from across America and beyond after President Barack Obama chose not to thank God but referred to “luck” during his Thanksgiving address in defiance of the holiday tradition’s purpose as established by President George Washington in 1789.
Obama omitted religious references in his three-minute speech although Thanksgiving is “a holiday traditionally steeped in giving thanks and praise to God,” said Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes.
“The president said his family was ‘reflecting on how truly lucky we are,’” he added. “For many Americans, though, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on how blessed and thankful they are.”
In his speech, Obama said his family would spend the day “eating great food, watching a little football, and reflecting on how truly lucky we are.”
“Somebody ought to remind Obama that when Americans sit down around a meal today and give thanks, they give thanks to God,” said The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s columnist Sherman Frederick.
Proclaiming the first national day of public thanksgiving, George Washington, America’s first president who also presided over the writing of the Constitution, said, “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor … a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God …”
Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro was harsher in criticizing the president. “Unreal that Obama doesn’t mention God in Thanksgiving message,” reads his tweet. “Militant atheist. To whom does he think we are giving thanks?”
Britain’s Daily Mail also reported on Obama’s omission. “Any acknowledgement of a spiritual element to the holiday was conspicuousness by its absence, as the president called the festival ‘a celebration of community,’” it said.
Notably, Obama thanked God in his written proclamation before Thanksgiving. “As we gather in our communities and in our homes, around the table or near the hearth, we give thanks to each other and to God for the many kindnesses and comforts that grace our lives,” he wrote. “Let us pause to recount the simple gifts that sustain us, and resolve to pay them forward in the year to come.”
The president also thanked God explicitly in his address in 2010 and 2009. “Today, like millions of other families across America, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will sit down to share a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends – and a few helpings of food and football, too,” Obama said in his Thanksgiving address last year. “And just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we’ll spend some time taking stock of what we’re thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another.”
Some find criticism of Obama misleading. “Wouldn’t it be nice if the GOP cared as much about jobs as they do about stuff like whether Prez said God in a speech?” tweeted Arianna Huffington.
ABC News pointed out that three of the GOP presidential candidates – former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Penn. Sen. Rick Santorum – also omitted God in the Thanksgiving statements they issued.
Removal of Cross From Army Chapel in Afghanistan Stirs Controversy
By Michael Gryboski | Christian Post Reporter
The Christian Post > U.S.|Fri, Nov. 25 2011 05:12 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/removal-of-cross-from-army-chapel-in-afghanistan-stirs-controversy-63053/
The U.S. Army has removed a cross that was prominently placed on the front of a chapel located at the remote base of Camp Marmal in Northern Afghanistan.
Although soldiers at the Central Asian base considered the cross to be an inspiring symbol, officials said that having a permanent sectarian image on the chapel violated army regulations.
As Army Regulation 165-1, 12-3k reads in part, “The chapel environment will be religiously neutral when the facility is not being used for scheduled worship. Portable religious symbols, icons, or statues may be used within a chapel during times of religious worship.”
Fox News interviewed American soldiers stationed at the base and found that some held issue with the decision to remove the cross.
One soldier referred to the decision and the regulation behind it as “a direct attack against Christianity and Judaism.”
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council also talked with Fox News and said the decision secularized a religious building.
“There’s a sole purpose of a chapel and it’s to worship,” said Perkins.
“The timing of this – what a way to celebrate Thanksgiving.”
Joe Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told The Christian Post in an interview that the Army made the right decision.
“The American military includes personnel from many different faith traditions and some who follow no spiritual path at all. That diversity should be respected,” said Conn.
“It's perfectly appropriate to display sectarian symbols in military buildings when worship services are underway there, but those symbols should not be left there permanently. That would suggest that the faith represented is getting preferential treatment.”
In response to those who say that the military is targeting Christians, Conn said that if anything Christians in the armed forces receive preferential treatment.
“I know of no evidence that Christianity is being discriminated against in the military,” said Conn.
“As a matter of fact, there have been ongoing problems with military bias in favor of evangelical Christianity.”
The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers also welcomed the removal of the cross, considering it an example of protecting “civil rights and neutrality towards religion.”
“Christians are calling this an attack on their religion. This implies that putting up a 6-foot cross on a prominent military facility is not an attack on all competing religions,” reads a MAAF blog entry.
“A Star of David, Crescent and Star, Buddhist Prayer Wheel, or other religious symbol would be a violation just as a Christian cross is.”
The unidentified soldier who spoke to Fox News said he will comply with Army rules. But he cautioned, ““If they are able to erase Christian symbols from the military, then it can be pushed to be erased in the private sector.”
Military burns Bibles sent to troops in Afghanistan
Karen McCracken
Louisville Christian Examiner
May 20, 2009 - Like this?
http://www.examiner.com/christian-in-louisville/military-burns-bibles-sent-to-troops-afghanistan#ixzz1f4yklBBN
A story hit the media today, stating that the U.S. Military made a choice to burn Bibles sent to soldiers on base in Afghanistan. The military has a policy that unsolicited religious materials are not allowed to be sent or distributed by military personnel. Central Command General Order No. 1 specifically forbids “proselytizing of any faith, religion or practice” and is to be strongly enforced in sectors which are predominantly Muslim, for fear such material distribution will be taken as an attempt on behalf of the U.S. to proselytize and convert the local people. If such actions were perceived in this manner, the military says it could jeopardize the safety of their mission and cause possible harm to come to the soldiers on base as well as the local Muslims who might show interest in another religion.
Afghanistan is a devout Muslim nation. Although there are various Christian organizations that support professional career missionaries in the field, most missionary efforts in the area are not publicized or promoted, for safety reasons. The Bibles that were sent to a Sgt. James Watt on base in Bargram, Afghanistan were a rare find due to the fact that they were written in Pashto and Dari, the predominant languages in that particular region. The church that sent the Bibles saved and held fundraisers in order to afford the cost of the Bibles and shipping. Instead of sending the Bibles back to the church the military officials chose to burn the Bibles, stating that if they sent the Bibles back to the church they feared the church would turn around and send them to another organization within Afghanistan.
A Defense Department Spokesman stated that the soldier who received the Bibles from his church back in the U.S. was unaware of the policies concerning distribution of religious materials and verified that the Bibles were confiscated and eventually burned. Despite regulations, many Christian Evangelical Soldiers gather together on base and continue to pray for ways they can reach out and share their faith, even in such a war-torn situation as this.
Military policy or not, church-goers across the globe are disturbed by the fact that Afghanistan’s intolerance for other religions and reputation for persecuting Christians is being tolerated by the U.S. In light of the situation, did the military do the right thing? Should they have sent the Bibles back to the U.S. church rather than burning them? Should the church have been notified and given the opportunity to use the Bibles to reach Afghanistan people in other parts of the world? Or did the military make a sound decision?
Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-05-20/world/us.military.bibles.burned_1_bibles-al-jazeera-english-military-personnel?_s=PM:WORLD
Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.
The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.
Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.
"The decision was made that it was a 'force protection' measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims," Wright told CNN on Tuesday.
Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash, Wright said.
The Bibles were written in the languages Pashto and Dari.
This decision came to light recently, after the Al Jazeera English network aired video of a group prayer service and chapel sermon that a reporter said suggested U.S. troops were being encouraged to spread Christianity.
The military denied that earlier this month, saying much in the video was taken out of context.
"This was irresponsible and dangerous journalism sensationalizing year-old footage of a religious service for U.S. soldiers on a U.S. base and inferring that troops are evangelizing to Afghans," Col. Gregory Julian said.
The military says a soldier at Bagram received the Bibles and didn't realize he wasn't allowed to hand them out. In the Al Jazeera video, which shows the Bibles at the prayer service, an unnamed soldier says members of his church raised money for them.
The chaplain later corrected the soldier and confiscated the Bibles, Wright said.
Military officers considered sending the Bibles back to the church, he said, but they worried the church would turn around and send them to another organization in Afghanistan -- giving the impression that they had been distributed by the U.S. government.
That could lead to violence against troops or U.S. civilians, Wright said.
Al Jazeera English, a Qatar-based international news service, said its reporters tried to get a response from military officials for its story but were unable to do so.
The U.S. military air base at Bagram is home to thousands of troops from all branches of the U.S. military. The vast majority of the troops do not leave the base and are in various support roles for U.S. troops across Afghanistan.
But again which God should he thank, Christian, Hindu, Atheist, Jajja Muwanga, Native American, Allah? since "He is not a Christian" as US Conservatives claim, why then should he thank your God? And again is that not Christianity by FORCE rather than Grace?Kato Mivule
Obama's God-less Thanksgiving Speech Draws Ire
By Anugrah Kumar | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > U.S.|Sat, Nov. 26 2011 09:21 AM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/obamas-god-less-thanksgiving-speech-draws-ire-63080/
Angry reactions are pouring in from across America and beyond after President Barack Obama chose not to thank God but referred to “luck” during his Thanksgiving address in defiance of the holiday tradition’s purpose as established by President George Washington in 1789.
Obama omitted religious references in his three-minute speech although Thanksgiving is “a holiday traditionally steeped in giving thanks and praise to God,” said Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes.
“The president said his family was ‘reflecting on how truly lucky we are,’” he added. “For many Americans, though, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on how blessed and thankful they are.”
In his speech, Obama said his family would spend the day “eating great food, watching a little football, and reflecting on how truly lucky we are.”
“Somebody ought to remind Obama that when Americans sit down around a meal today and give thanks, they give thanks to God,” said The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s columnist Sherman Frederick.
Proclaiming the first national day of public thanksgiving, George Washington, America’s first president who also presided over the writing of the Constitution, said, “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor … a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God …”
Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro was harsher in criticizing the president. “Unreal that Obama doesn’t mention God in Thanksgiving message,” reads his tweet. “Militant atheist. To whom does he think we are giving thanks?”
Britain’s Daily Mail also reported on Obama’s omission. “Any acknowledgement of a spiritual element to the holiday was conspicuousness by its absence, as the president called the festival ‘a celebration of community,’” it said.
Notably, Obama thanked God in his written proclamation before Thanksgiving. “As we gather in our communities and in our homes, around the table or near the hearth, we give thanks to each other and to God for the many kindnesses and comforts that grace our lives,” he wrote. “Let us pause to recount the simple gifts that sustain us, and resolve to pay them forward in the year to come.”
The president also thanked God explicitly in his address in 2010 and 2009. “Today, like millions of other families across America, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will sit down to share a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends – and a few helpings of food and football, too,” Obama said in his Thanksgiving address last year. “And just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we’ll spend some time taking stock of what we’re thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another.”
Some find criticism of Obama misleading. “Wouldn’t it be nice if the GOP cared as much about jobs as they do about stuff like whether Prez said God in a speech?” tweeted Arianna Huffington.
ABC News pointed out that three of the GOP presidential candidates – former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Penn. Sen. Rick Santorum – also omitted God in the Thanksgiving statements they issued.
Removal of Cross From Army Chapel in Afghanistan Stirs Controversy
By Michael Gryboski | Christian Post Reporter
The Christian Post > U.S.|Fri, Nov. 25 2011 05:12 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/removal-of-cross-from-army-chapel-in-afghanistan-stirs-controversy-63053/
The U.S. Army has removed a cross that was prominently placed on the front of a chapel located at the remote base of Camp Marmal in Northern Afghanistan.
Although soldiers at the Central Asian base considered the cross to be an inspiring symbol, officials said that having a permanent sectarian image on the chapel violated army regulations.
As Army Regulation 165-1, 12-3k reads in part, “The chapel environment will be religiously neutral when the facility is not being used for scheduled worship. Portable religious symbols, icons, or statues may be used within a chapel during times of religious worship.”
Fox News interviewed American soldiers stationed at the base and found that some held issue with the decision to remove the cross.
One soldier referred to the decision and the regulation behind it as “a direct attack against Christianity and Judaism.”
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council also talked with Fox News and said the decision secularized a religious building.
“There’s a sole purpose of a chapel and it’s to worship,” said Perkins.
“The timing of this – what a way to celebrate Thanksgiving.”
Joe Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told The Christian Post in an interview that the Army made the right decision.
“The American military includes personnel from many different faith traditions and some who follow no spiritual path at all. That diversity should be respected,” said Conn.
“It's perfectly appropriate to display sectarian symbols in military buildings when worship services are underway there, but those symbols should not be left there permanently. That would suggest that the faith represented is getting preferential treatment.”
In response to those who say that the military is targeting Christians, Conn said that if anything Christians in the armed forces receive preferential treatment.
“I know of no evidence that Christianity is being discriminated against in the military,” said Conn.
“As a matter of fact, there have been ongoing problems with military bias in favor of evangelical Christianity.”
The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers also welcomed the removal of the cross, considering it an example of protecting “civil rights and neutrality towards religion.”
“Christians are calling this an attack on their religion. This implies that putting up a 6-foot cross on a prominent military facility is not an attack on all competing religions,” reads a MAAF blog entry.
“A Star of David, Crescent and Star, Buddhist Prayer Wheel, or other religious symbol would be a violation just as a Christian cross is.”
The unidentified soldier who spoke to Fox News said he will comply with Army rules. But he cautioned, ““If they are able to erase Christian symbols from the military, then it can be pushed to be erased in the private sector.”
Military burns Bibles sent to troops in Afghanistan
Karen McCracken
Louisville Christian Examiner
May 20, 2009 - Like this?
http://www.examiner.com/christian-in-louisville/military-burns-bibles-sent-to-troops-afghanistan#ixzz1f4yklBBN
A story hit the media today, stating that the U.S. Military made a choice to burn Bibles sent to soldiers on base in Afghanistan. The military has a policy that unsolicited religious materials are not allowed to be sent or distributed by military personnel. Central Command General Order No. 1 specifically forbids “proselytizing of any faith, religion or practice” and is to be strongly enforced in sectors which are predominantly Muslim, for fear such material distribution will be taken as an attempt on behalf of the U.S. to proselytize and convert the local people. If such actions were perceived in this manner, the military says it could jeopardize the safety of their mission and cause possible harm to come to the soldiers on base as well as the local Muslims who might show interest in another religion.
Afghanistan is a devout Muslim nation. Although there are various Christian organizations that support professional career missionaries in the field, most missionary efforts in the area are not publicized or promoted, for safety reasons. The Bibles that were sent to a Sgt. James Watt on base in Bargram, Afghanistan were a rare find due to the fact that they were written in Pashto and Dari, the predominant languages in that particular region. The church that sent the Bibles saved and held fundraisers in order to afford the cost of the Bibles and shipping. Instead of sending the Bibles back to the church the military officials chose to burn the Bibles, stating that if they sent the Bibles back to the church they feared the church would turn around and send them to another organization within Afghanistan.
A Defense Department Spokesman stated that the soldier who received the Bibles from his church back in the U.S. was unaware of the policies concerning distribution of religious materials and verified that the Bibles were confiscated and eventually burned. Despite regulations, many Christian Evangelical Soldiers gather together on base and continue to pray for ways they can reach out and share their faith, even in such a war-torn situation as this.
Military policy or not, church-goers across the globe are disturbed by the fact that Afghanistan’s intolerance for other religions and reputation for persecuting Christians is being tolerated by the U.S. In light of the situation, did the military do the right thing? Should they have sent the Bibles back to the U.S. church rather than burning them? Should the church have been notified and given the opportunity to use the Bibles to reach Afghanistan people in other parts of the world? Or did the military make a sound decision?
Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-05-20/world/us.military.bibles.burned_1_bibles-al-jazeera-english-military-personnel?_s=PM:WORLD
Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.
The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.
Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.
"The decision was made that it was a 'force protection' measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims," Wright told CNN on Tuesday.
Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash, Wright said.
The Bibles were written in the languages Pashto and Dari.
This decision came to light recently, after the Al Jazeera English network aired video of a group prayer service and chapel sermon that a reporter said suggested U.S. troops were being encouraged to spread Christianity.
The military denied that earlier this month, saying much in the video was taken out of context.
"This was irresponsible and dangerous journalism sensationalizing year-old footage of a religious service for U.S. soldiers on a U.S. base and inferring that troops are evangelizing to Afghans," Col. Gregory Julian said.
The military says a soldier at Bagram received the Bibles and didn't realize he wasn't allowed to hand them out. In the Al Jazeera video, which shows the Bibles at the prayer service, an unnamed soldier says members of his church raised money for them.
The chaplain later corrected the soldier and confiscated the Bibles, Wright said.
Military officers considered sending the Bibles back to the church, he said, but they worried the church would turn around and send them to another organization in Afghanistan -- giving the impression that they had been distributed by the U.S. government.
That could lead to violence against troops or U.S. civilians, Wright said.
Al Jazeera English, a Qatar-based international news service, said its reporters tried to get a response from military officials for its story but were unable to do so.
The U.S. military air base at Bagram is home to thousands of troops from all branches of the U.S. military. The vast majority of the troops do not leave the base and are in various support roles for U.S. troops across Afghanistan.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
A Tale of Two countries: Denmark to allow Gay Couples to Wed in church; in Nigeria it is still a big NO
Gay Marriage OK in Denmark Churches
By Matthew Cortina | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > World|Wed, Nov. 23 2011 09:50 AM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-marriage-ok-in-denmark-churches-62818/
Denmark will allow gay couples to be married in churches starting this February, according to reports
The Lutheran Church of Denmark, to which 80 percent of Danes belong, already offers short blessing ceremonies at the end of masses, but the measure set to begin next year will allow gay couple to conduct weddings in churches also
A recent poll found that more than 60 percent of Danes are in favor of gay marriage.
New church minister of the Church of Denmark, Manu Sareen, said it was a long time coming for the Scandinavian country.
“The first same-sex weddings will hopefully become reality in Spring 2012,” Sareen said. “I look forward to the moment the first homosexual couple steps out of the church.”
Denmark has long been a leader in gay rights. In 1989, it became the first country to allow same-sex civil unions. One of the first two men to enter into a civil union anywhere in the world, Axel Axgil, died at age 96 in October.
Though the clear majority of Danes claim to belong to the Church of Denmark, only 5 percent regularly attend church services. A portion of tax dollars collected from Danish citizens is allocated to churches and religious groups.
About $1.1 million is allocated annually to churches and religious organizations.
Historically, Christian countries, like those in Scandinavia, are facing a congregational crisis – many can’t attract the numbers they used to. Last month, a Swedish pastor started “Techno Mass” at his church to lure in young worshippers.
Gay Marriage to Be Criminalized Under Nigeria Law
By Matthew Cortina | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > World|Tue, Nov. 22 2011 07:55 AM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-marriage-to-be-criminalized-under-nigeria-law-62663/
Nigeria is poised to ban and criminalize gay marriage in a bill that is gaining widespread support in the country’s legislature.
The bill would prohibit gay couples from marrying and punish offenders with up to five years in prison. Witnesses of gay marriage are also subject to up to five years of jail time.
"I am so confident because Nigeria is a society that is very, very godly," Sen. Domingo Obende, who sponsored the bill, told the AP.
Nigeria is a deeply religious country, split almost in half by Christians and Muslims. Though the two groups in Africa’s most populous country have clashed on a number of issues, sources say gay marriage is not one of them.
“There is no religion that welcomes the same-sex marriage, whether Islam or Christianity,” National Tourism Director Olusegun Runsewe told reporters. “We need to be careful and do all it takes to shun this practice, because same-sex marriage is satanic and it can destroy any system, as well as cause bad image for any country.”
Homosexuality is technically illegal in Nigeria. Sodomy is punished in the mainly-Christian south with jail time, and homosexuals in the Muslim north – where Shariah law prevails – may be stoned to death, though this practice has never officially been carried out.
Members of Nigeria’s legislature consider homosexuality a “foreign import,” but think banning the lifestyle would be a boon to the country’s foreign appeal.
“Homosexual and lesbian practices are considered offensive to public morality in Nigeria. (The) bill is crucial to our national development because it seeks to protect the traditional family, which is the fundamental unit of society, especially in our country,” wrote the influential newspaper, This Day, in an editorial on Nov. 10.
“It will be difficult to import practices and lifestyles which are alien to our country and the majority of our people,” the editorial continued.
Many countries in Africa have promoted legislation to curb homosexuality. Ugandan lawmakers proposed a bill several times to punish homosexuality with death – though the bill ultimately failed. Zimbabwe, with a population that is 75 percent Christian, has recently made efforts to criminalize homosexual acts such as holding hands and kissing.
Human rights activists say the bill would further abuse a demographic that is already at risk of physical and verbal abuse. The bill, some say, is an attack on all of humanity.
“This is an insidious bill that appears to be limited to same-gender marriage, but is actually an attack on basic rights,” Human Rights Watch spokesperson Graeme Reid, told the UN publication, IRIN.
“The definition of ‘same-gender marriage’ is so broad as to include anyone even suspected of being in a same-sex relationship. And it threatens human rights defenders by targeting people who support unpopular causes,” Reid said.
Opponents say a ban on marriage should be one of Nigeria’s lowest priorities. Among other issues, Nigeria faces an AIDS epidemic, of which the marriage bill may affect the treatment and perception.
“Same sex marriage may be a current demand in the United States, or in the U.K. where I now live, but it isn't in Nigeria,” the Rev. Ijeoma Ajibade wrote in the Huffington Post. “Nigerian LGBT people have never asked for marriage, what they have asked for is respect and acknowledgment of their fundamental human rights and I believe that they should be listened to.”
“They too are made in the image of God,” Ajibade continued. “They too are human and should be allowed to live without fear of death, harassment or discrimination.”
The bill will be voted on in the coming weeks.
By Matthew Cortina | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > World|Wed, Nov. 23 2011 09:50 AM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-marriage-ok-in-denmark-churches-62818/
Denmark will allow gay couples to be married in churches starting this February, according to reports
The Lutheran Church of Denmark, to which 80 percent of Danes belong, already offers short blessing ceremonies at the end of masses, but the measure set to begin next year will allow gay couple to conduct weddings in churches also
A recent poll found that more than 60 percent of Danes are in favor of gay marriage.
New church minister of the Church of Denmark, Manu Sareen, said it was a long time coming for the Scandinavian country.
“The first same-sex weddings will hopefully become reality in Spring 2012,” Sareen said. “I look forward to the moment the first homosexual couple steps out of the church.”
Denmark has long been a leader in gay rights. In 1989, it became the first country to allow same-sex civil unions. One of the first two men to enter into a civil union anywhere in the world, Axel Axgil, died at age 96 in October.
Though the clear majority of Danes claim to belong to the Church of Denmark, only 5 percent regularly attend church services. A portion of tax dollars collected from Danish citizens is allocated to churches and religious groups.
About $1.1 million is allocated annually to churches and religious organizations.
Historically, Christian countries, like those in Scandinavia, are facing a congregational crisis – many can’t attract the numbers they used to. Last month, a Swedish pastor started “Techno Mass” at his church to lure in young worshippers.
Gay Marriage to Be Criminalized Under Nigeria Law
By Matthew Cortina | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > World|Tue, Nov. 22 2011 07:55 AM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-marriage-to-be-criminalized-under-nigeria-law-62663/
Nigeria is poised to ban and criminalize gay marriage in a bill that is gaining widespread support in the country’s legislature.
The bill would prohibit gay couples from marrying and punish offenders with up to five years in prison. Witnesses of gay marriage are also subject to up to five years of jail time.
"I am so confident because Nigeria is a society that is very, very godly," Sen. Domingo Obende, who sponsored the bill, told the AP.
Nigeria is a deeply religious country, split almost in half by Christians and Muslims. Though the two groups in Africa’s most populous country have clashed on a number of issues, sources say gay marriage is not one of them.
“There is no religion that welcomes the same-sex marriage, whether Islam or Christianity,” National Tourism Director Olusegun Runsewe told reporters. “We need to be careful and do all it takes to shun this practice, because same-sex marriage is satanic and it can destroy any system, as well as cause bad image for any country.”
Homosexuality is technically illegal in Nigeria. Sodomy is punished in the mainly-Christian south with jail time, and homosexuals in the Muslim north – where Shariah law prevails – may be stoned to death, though this practice has never officially been carried out.
Members of Nigeria’s legislature consider homosexuality a “foreign import,” but think banning the lifestyle would be a boon to the country’s foreign appeal.
“Homosexual and lesbian practices are considered offensive to public morality in Nigeria. (The) bill is crucial to our national development because it seeks to protect the traditional family, which is the fundamental unit of society, especially in our country,” wrote the influential newspaper, This Day, in an editorial on Nov. 10.
“It will be difficult to import practices and lifestyles which are alien to our country and the majority of our people,” the editorial continued.
Many countries in Africa have promoted legislation to curb homosexuality. Ugandan lawmakers proposed a bill several times to punish homosexuality with death – though the bill ultimately failed. Zimbabwe, with a population that is 75 percent Christian, has recently made efforts to criminalize homosexual acts such as holding hands and kissing.
Human rights activists say the bill would further abuse a demographic that is already at risk of physical and verbal abuse. The bill, some say, is an attack on all of humanity.
“This is an insidious bill that appears to be limited to same-gender marriage, but is actually an attack on basic rights,” Human Rights Watch spokesperson Graeme Reid, told the UN publication, IRIN.
“The definition of ‘same-gender marriage’ is so broad as to include anyone even suspected of being in a same-sex relationship. And it threatens human rights defenders by targeting people who support unpopular causes,” Reid said.
Opponents say a ban on marriage should be one of Nigeria’s lowest priorities. Among other issues, Nigeria faces an AIDS epidemic, of which the marriage bill may affect the treatment and perception.
“Same sex marriage may be a current demand in the United States, or in the U.K. where I now live, but it isn't in Nigeria,” the Rev. Ijeoma Ajibade wrote in the Huffington Post. “Nigerian LGBT people have never asked for marriage, what they have asked for is respect and acknowledgment of their fundamental human rights and I believe that they should be listened to.”
“They too are made in the image of God,” Ajibade continued. “They too are human and should be allowed to live without fear of death, harassment or discrimination.”
The bill will be voted on in the coming weeks.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
End of a Prosperity Era: The Day the Crystal Cathedral Died
The Day the Crystal Cathedral Died
By Angie Schuller Wyatt | Christian Post Guest Contributor
The Christian Post > Opinion > Opinions|Mon, Nov. 21 2011 12:23 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-day-the-crystal-cathedral-died-62568/
I liken my grief of the Crystal Cathedral’s death to grieving a loved one with a terminal illness. Now that it’s over, in this moment, I can breathe a sigh of relief.
In 2008, the first headline hit home hard, “Schuller Ousts Son as Senior Pastor.” The initial shock was crippling, spiraling me into denial, anger and despair. Only through counseling and prayer was I able to accept the situation, addressing it head on.
I am the only family member who has spoken publicly about the truth of what really happened.
Having to cope with an onslaught of never-ending headlines made my head spin as the prognosis worsened. There was nothing I could do to stop my misguided family members. Others in the family seemed to be holding on to “a miracle” that would come just in time. I knew better. Something that defined my life, something I hoped would define my children’s lives, was about to die.
Eventually the madness worsened to the point that death itself signaled relief. If you’ve ever held the hand of a dying loved one, you know that death becomes the final blessing. Yet, during that final moment, you pause in respect. It’s a holy moment to reflect on what was and to grieve what shall never be again.
Yesterday, Crystal Cathedral Ministries died. The music stopped playing. In its place, in three years time, will reside the Catholic Church. The namesake of the ministry will be no more. Just like Esau, their birthright was sold.
I’d like to tell you this brings me comfort knowing that orthodox Christians will continue to worship in this building. But I can’t say that. It’s like telling a grieving a widow there are many fishes in the sea.
In one respect, this human metaphor falls short. The Crystal Cathedral isn’t a person, it is an institution. As such, its problems were not terminal. They could have been solved. My father attempted to fix these problems during his short tenure as senior pastor. He saw the Crystal Cathedral was headed toward bankruptcy. He attempted to restructure the board, cut his sibling’s salaries and establish fiscal responsibility. For these actions, he was fired by the board, which consisted of . . . you guessed it, his siblings.
His siblings fired him because they wanted to control it and had been brewing for some time. Apparently, they thought they could do a better job. They were clearly wrong. Oddly enough, they believed they were more “anointed” than my father. That’s not an assumption; they actually told him that his sermons weren’t anointed. I know from other conversations, and from watching media interviews with Sheila Coleman, they thought God would bless them for taking over the reins.
Clearly, time tells all. God didn’t honor them or their actions.
Through their religious self-absorption, they convinced themselves they were “spiritually superior.” And in the process, they made a public mockery of Christianity and the Crystal Cathedral. A 50-year old institution that helped countless millions lay to waste.
This self-absorbed conviction, a toxic lie, prevented them from reaching out to my father for help. Had they stepped aside and put the Crystal Cathedral’s heir apparent back in the pulpit, I am positive my father would have rebuilt rapport with the congregation, audience and supporters. The Crystal Cathedral could have been saved.
Tragically, this didn’t happen.
I’m certain we’ve all learned from this disaster. It’s reinforced my desire to lead my life and ministry with integrity, humility and truth. May we all learn from my father’s example, and be willing to pursue the right course – even if it costs us what we love most.
Although I had no control over the situation, I can only express what my other family members will never say, “I’m sorry.” This week, as Christians, we are once again reminded that a building is not the Church. We, God’s people, are the church.
Angie Schuller Wyatt is the granddaughter of Robert H. Schuller, who founded the Crystal Cathedral, and the daughter of Robert A. Schuller. She is married to CEO of ComStar Media Chris Wyatt. She is also a prolific speaker, published author, pastoral counselor and professional singer.
By Angie Schuller Wyatt | Christian Post Guest Contributor
The Christian Post > Opinion > Opinions|Mon, Nov. 21 2011 12:23 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-day-the-crystal-cathedral-died-62568/
I liken my grief of the Crystal Cathedral’s death to grieving a loved one with a terminal illness. Now that it’s over, in this moment, I can breathe a sigh of relief.
In 2008, the first headline hit home hard, “Schuller Ousts Son as Senior Pastor.” The initial shock was crippling, spiraling me into denial, anger and despair. Only through counseling and prayer was I able to accept the situation, addressing it head on.
I am the only family member who has spoken publicly about the truth of what really happened.
Having to cope with an onslaught of never-ending headlines made my head spin as the prognosis worsened. There was nothing I could do to stop my misguided family members. Others in the family seemed to be holding on to “a miracle” that would come just in time. I knew better. Something that defined my life, something I hoped would define my children’s lives, was about to die.
Eventually the madness worsened to the point that death itself signaled relief. If you’ve ever held the hand of a dying loved one, you know that death becomes the final blessing. Yet, during that final moment, you pause in respect. It’s a holy moment to reflect on what was and to grieve what shall never be again.
Yesterday, Crystal Cathedral Ministries died. The music stopped playing. In its place, in three years time, will reside the Catholic Church. The namesake of the ministry will be no more. Just like Esau, their birthright was sold.
I’d like to tell you this brings me comfort knowing that orthodox Christians will continue to worship in this building. But I can’t say that. It’s like telling a grieving a widow there are many fishes in the sea.
In one respect, this human metaphor falls short. The Crystal Cathedral isn’t a person, it is an institution. As such, its problems were not terminal. They could have been solved. My father attempted to fix these problems during his short tenure as senior pastor. He saw the Crystal Cathedral was headed toward bankruptcy. He attempted to restructure the board, cut his sibling’s salaries and establish fiscal responsibility. For these actions, he was fired by the board, which consisted of . . . you guessed it, his siblings.
His siblings fired him because they wanted to control it and had been brewing for some time. Apparently, they thought they could do a better job. They were clearly wrong. Oddly enough, they believed they were more “anointed” than my father. That’s not an assumption; they actually told him that his sermons weren’t anointed. I know from other conversations, and from watching media interviews with Sheila Coleman, they thought God would bless them for taking over the reins.
Clearly, time tells all. God didn’t honor them or their actions.
Through their religious self-absorption, they convinced themselves they were “spiritually superior.” And in the process, they made a public mockery of Christianity and the Crystal Cathedral. A 50-year old institution that helped countless millions lay to waste.
This self-absorbed conviction, a toxic lie, prevented them from reaching out to my father for help. Had they stepped aside and put the Crystal Cathedral’s heir apparent back in the pulpit, I am positive my father would have rebuilt rapport with the congregation, audience and supporters. The Crystal Cathedral could have been saved.
Tragically, this didn’t happen.
I’m certain we’ve all learned from this disaster. It’s reinforced my desire to lead my life and ministry with integrity, humility and truth. May we all learn from my father’s example, and be willing to pursue the right course – even if it costs us what we love most.
Although I had no control over the situation, I can only express what my other family members will never say, “I’m sorry.” This week, as Christians, we are once again reminded that a building is not the Church. We, God’s people, are the church.
Angie Schuller Wyatt is the granddaughter of Robert H. Schuller, who founded the Crystal Cathedral, and the daughter of Robert A. Schuller. She is married to CEO of ComStar Media Chris Wyatt. She is also a prolific speaker, published author, pastoral counselor and professional singer.
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