The Red-Cheeked Policeman

The young wife—newly pregnant—looked down at her blood stained dress and began to sob.   The terrified husband cradled his beloved spouse in his arms and prayed as wisps of what was left of his hair fell onto the floor in front of him.  What had just happened was worse than any horror film—any nightmare. The horrified husband nestled his head into the neck of his distraught wife and wept.  He didn’t want to remember the events of the night, but unfortunately they kept replaying in his mind.  The husband would never forget the words of the red-cheeked policeman—he had something to say.

The blissful couple had just settled in to bed when suddenly four undercover Iranian security men kicked open the door of their peaceful home.  The young wife began to scream as angry Muslim attackers beat her and her husband in the middle of their living room floor.  Instinctively, the young wife’s arms wrapped around her belly—desperately trying to protect the tiny baby growing within her womb.  The battered and bloody husband pleaded for the attackers to stop and begged that his pregnant wife not be harmed—but his cries went unheeded.  In one terrifying moment, the young wife was thrown to the floor and viciously raped as her husband sobbed in utter agony.  Blood-curdling screams reverberated throughout the house as a young mother fought helplessly to save her life and that of her unborn child.  All the while the red-cheeked policeman waited—he had something to say.

When it was finally over, both husband and wife both lay silent, bloody, and limp on the living room floor.  Then suddenly, the eerie silence was broken by angry footsteps bounding towards the couple’s tangled bodies. The husband slowly opened his swollen eyes and found himself staring into the face of the red-cheeked policeman.  The Iranian man’s eyes refused to blink as he loomed over the couple with seething nostrils and clenched fists.  The husband had never seen such insanity—such utter evil.  Then, without warning, the red-cheeked policeman threw his head back and screamed, “Now ask your Jesus to come and save you! Or return back to Islam! Otherwise, it will become even worse than this.”

The husband’s breath caught in his throat as he suddenly realized why they had been brutally attacked—why his beautiful wife had been mercilessly beaten and raped.  His hands clawed the floor as the night’s events began to make sense.  Like a flash, the husband’s mind reverted to the day he had left Islam and accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. This was why they had come—the red-cheeked policeman had something to say.

I Now Pronounce You Husband and Wife—You May Kiss Your Child Bride

Marriage is a beautiful thing. It is the sacred union of a man and a woman—deeply in love—who desire to exemplify their love through the blessed marriage vow. Months of planning and primping culminate in one simple, eloquent, and beautiful phrase, “I now pronounce you man and wife.” What follows is that wedded “kiss” which makes even the staunchest man’s eyes well with tears. It is true love, ordained by God, and exemplified through Christ.  

The “idea” of marriage dates back to the biblical book of Genesis where God ordained the union of one man and one woman in the Garden of Eden. “Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh,” (Genesis 2:22-24).  For Adam and Eve it was the perfect union—the princess had found her prince. 

Unfortunately for 13-year-old Saba Younas and her ten-year-old sister Anila, any dreams of marrying their prince in a ceremony filled with flowers, cake, and glistening dresses has been dashed to pieces. These two Pakistani Christian children have been kidnapped, forced to marry Muslim men, and coerced to convert to Islam against their will. Saba and Anila’s childhood, innocence, and aspirations of marriage have been completely destroyed by the hands of Muslim fundamentalists bent on emulating the founder of Islam-Muhammad. “

“The Prophet married Aisha in Mecca three years before the Hijrah, after the death of Khadija. At the time she was six.” Ishaq:281 “When the Apostle came to Medina he was fifty-three” (Tabari VII:7).

For weeks Saba and Anila’s parents have been desperately trying to find their tiny daughters.  Night and day the disparaged mother and father’s bruised knuckles rap on doors—begging for any information on the location of their children. Yet without cooperation from Pakistan’s Islamic government, their searches have proven fruitless. With only the moon to guide them, Saba and Anila’s parents return home with red-rimmed eyes and twisted stomachs as another day passes—and their children are nowhere to be found.  Unfortunately, they are part of Pakistan’s Christian minority and thus are forced to live under the umbrella of Sharia law and comply with the teachings of Muhammad—teachings that exemplify Christians as second-class citizens and turn a blind eye to child marriages. “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful,” (Qur’an 9:5).

As we pray for Saba and Anila’s safe return home, we must also pray for their unwavering faith. Although their innocence and their Christian identity has been stolen from their bodies—through the grace of God it has not been stripped from their souls. “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

Return to Sender

Large cardboard boxes sat on the warehouse floor ready to be loaded and shipped.  The boxes looked like all the other packages in the warehouse—brown, humble, and unassuming—but these boxes were special.  Housed inside the cardboard walls of these freshly taped parcels were 11,000 Bibles—the Word of God.  Members of the Russian Bible Society delicately placed name tags on the tops of the brown boxes that read, “Destination: Uzbek Bible Society.”  Once the last name tag was put in place, all that was left to do was wait for the boxes to be picked up and sent to eager Uzbekistan Christians. One of the Russian Bible Society’s members wiped sweat from his tired brow and smiled at the large column of cardboard boxes stacked in front of him.  He couldn’t wait until the Bible-filled packages reached their destination—Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  Unfortunately, these Bibles would never make it into the hands of the thirsty Uzbek Bible Society’s members.

As the densely packed cardboard boxes rumbled onto Tashkent airport’s conveyor belt, beady eyed customs officials raised their eyebrows and scratched their chins.  One suspicious Uzbek official walked over to the boxes and looked down at the parcel’s nametag.  His pursed lips and clenched fists said it all—he was furious. Suddenly, Uzbek’s Religious Affairs Committee stormed into the airport with strong steps and hardened jaws. The unassuming boxes sagged as angry hands lifted them off the conveyor belt and hid them away. 

Grief stricken members of Uzbek’s Bible Society wept as boxes filled with the Word of God were callously shoved into dark, dingy, corners. For seven weeks, faithful members composed tear-filled letters and expressed heartfelt pleas, but to no avail–Uzbekistan’s Religious Affairs Committee would not budge. It was final–the shipment of 11,000 Bibles had been rejected by the country’s top officials. The leather bound Scriptures would never make it into the hands of faithful Uzbek Bible Society members.  Christian heads hung low as box after box was brought forward.  The sound of the metal stamp was deafening as it slammed down onto boxes filled with precious, precious, cargo. Eleven-thousand Bibles in brown, humble, boxes were being, “Returned to Sender.”

You May Not Leave the Theater

Mohsen Namvar, an Iranian convert from Islam to Christianity, refuses to remove his clothes in the presence of his wife—for fear she will see his badly bruised and battered flesh.  Instead he stares at his loving spouse with hollowed eyes, trying to forget his torture and his—torturers.  Yet, how can Mohsen forget the electrical shocks that blasted through his body?  How could anyone forget the agonizing pain of molten currents searing through their bones and igniting their veins?  Is there a human being alive who could strip their mind of horrific beatings and agonizing abuse? Does time really heal all wounds?  Will Mohsen Namvar ever be the same?

 

After reading about the extreme physical cruelty endured by Mohsen Namvar, one would wonder what heinous crime this man committed.  Did he commit murder?  No?  Okay, did he steal or destroy another persons’ property?  No?  Well, then what did Mohsen Namvar do to deserve being electrocuted and savagely beaten?  Sadly, Mohsen Namvar’s only crime was accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  Unfortunately, Mohsen Navar decided to become an Islamic apostate in a country where leaving Islam is against the law.  Mohsen Namvar will never be the same.

 

It is hard to imagine what it must feel like to be punished for being Christian—to live in constant fear of persecution.  Yet, this is how Mohsen Namvar lives every moment of his life—on the “edge of his seat” so to say.  Although it is a very understated analogy, Mohsen Namvar’s lifestyle is similar to what it must feel when one is watching an extremely scary movie.  Like all horror stories, there is a point in the film where the viewers are clawing the armrests, because the main character is moments away from death.  During this point of the movie, stomachs are tightened, jaws are clenched, and breaths are held while filmgoers wait to see if the monstrous villain claims his victim.  In most cases the monstrous villain is defeated and movie-goers leave the theater with a sense of relief.  Unfortunately, for the life of Mohsen Namvar and other Islamic apostates like him—the monstrous villain wins.  Mohsen Namvar does not have the choice of “leaving the theater.” His movie has been playing since the 7th century A.D. and this film’s actors and actresses have reprised the prophet of Islam’s despicable role.

 

“Ali burnt some (former Muslims alive) and this news reached Ibn Abbas, who said, ‘Had I been in this place, I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet said, “Don’t punish with Allah’s punishment.” No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet said, ‘If a Muslim discards his Islamic religion, kill him,’” (Bukhari V4B52N260).

 

Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): “I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them,” (Qur’an 8:12).

North Korea In the Spotlight

North Korea made headlines last week after submitting details about its nuclear weapons activities to China and announcing plans to dismantle its nuclear program. The government also destroyed a reactor cooling tower, which led President Bush to announce his own plans to remove North Korea from a list of countries that support terrorism.

The destruction of the program and North Korea’s attempts to appease the international community are certainly important, but if the nation wants true respect and improved relations with the U.S., it must also address the horrifying human rights violations within its borders.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has attempted over the years to control the amount of information that leaves or enters the country, so the information we have is scarce. But in spite of his best efforts, the suffering of his country’s citizens is no secret; the U.S. State Department has listed North Korea as a “Country of Particular Concern” since 2001, and ICC continually lists North Korea among the world’s worst persecutors of Christians. The designations are a result of the small number of North Korean citizens who have managed to escape the country and have reported on the conditions within its borders.

The former citizens report that imprisonment, torture and murder are common penalties for political “criminals,” and thousands of innocent people–perhaps as many as one million–have been sent to concentration camps. There is even evidence that North Korea kills its victims using gas chambers, much like the Nazis used during WWII. A former military attaché at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing testified, “I witnessed a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber: the parents, son and a daughter. The parents were vomiting and dying, but till the very last moment they tried to save kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing.”

Around 200,000 people are currently in these “torture camps,” while the rest have become forgotten victims and have been buried in unmarked graves. One North Korean defector, Cho Jin Hae, said that six members of her family were killed or died of starvation before they were able to escape. “I can’t explain to you what kinds of things I underwent and what kinds of things I suffered,” she said. Another North Korean refugee told U.S. authorities that carrying a Bible in North Korea was worse than committing murder, and many of the “criminals” in these camps are religious prisoners. “You can get away with murder if you have good connections,” he said. “If you get caught carrying a Bible, there’s no way to save your life.”

Christians around the world took part last week in a special Global Week of Prayer for North Korea, to support the Christians who still live in Kim Jong-Il’s clutches and can’t escape. But one week of prayer is not nearly enough. We must pray that the international community takes a stand and puts a stop to the violations that occur. And we must also pray that the media begins non-stop coverage of the horrors that Christians are subjected to. At the moment, the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program is more important–to the media, at least–but we must not forget the real news: Christians are living and dying in conditions that mirror those that the Jewish people faced almost 65 years ago. And unless the international community takes a stand and forces North Korea to change its ways, Christians will continue to die.