If Qatar and Turkey are permitted to play a major role in the governance and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war, it would mean a return to the pre-October 7, 2023 era, which saw the Iran-backed terror group fully controlling the coastal territory. In addition to Iran, Qatar and Turkey have long been sponsoring and funding Hamas and providing the terror group's leaders with shelter.

Inviting Qatar and Turkey to play a role in the Gaza Strip means again bringing Iran in through the back door. Both countries have strong relations and shared interests with Iran, which, according to reports, worked with Hamas to plan its October 7 invasion of Israel. Iran also reportedly gave the green light for the terror group to launch the assault during a meeting in Lebanon on October 2.

Despite the severe blow it was dealt as a result of the Israeli and American airstrikes, there are no signs whatsoever that the Iranian regime is ready to recognize Israel's right to exist, join the Abraham Accords, and abandon its terror proxies in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

"Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, Qatar has aligned itself closer to Tehran," the Iran International media outlet reported in December 2024.

"This was evident during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Doha in October 2024. The two countries discussed enhancing cooperation in economy, energy, culture, and education, with a particular focus on resolving the $6 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Qatar...
"Though Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Iran present their partnership as a means to promote regional stability, their alliance is rooted in political and strategic interests.
"The cooperation between Tehran and Doha is often framed in idealistic terms but conceals a deeper agenda focused on power, influence, and suppression."

Last year, Turkey signed 10 agreements with Iran for collaboration in energy, free trade, and transportation during a visit to Ankara by former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, according to Iran International.

"While the Islamic Republic [of Iran] emphasizes the economic aspects of the relationship to improve morale at home, the significance of Raisi's visit to Ankara lies in discussions on regional security and stability..."

US President Donald J. Trump, despite excellent intentions, might come to understand that the No. 1 priority for the Iranian and most Arab regimes is to stay in power and protect the interests of their leaders.

In the time-honored tradition of Arab politeness, these countries may well be telling Trump what he would like to hear -- secure in the knowledge that in three years, he will be off their backs, unable to pressure them anymore. Meanwhile, they will have positioned themselves comfortably in Gaza, learned more about Israeli technology, and be free to do as they like.

It is premature to assume that the bombing of Iran's nuclear sites is a game-changer for the region. We have not yet seen the Iranian regime talk about abandoning its plan to acquire nuclear weapons. Moreover, we still have not seen any indication from other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, that they are prepared, unconditionally, to join the Abraham Accords.

Earlier this year, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Turkey of cooperating with Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, saying:

"There is an intensified Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon for Hezbollah to restore its power and status. This effort to being carried out, among other channels, via Turkey and with its cooperation."

Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "is one of Hamas's most important strategic allies," according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.

"Turkey hosts senior Hamas figures, some of whom have received Turkish citizenship, and provides political, diplomatic and propaganda support, as well as economic and humanitarian assistance.
"Hamas has established one of its most important overseas centers in Turkey, primarily operated by prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal of 2011. It uses Turkey to plan terrorist attacks and transfer funds to finance terrorist activities inside Israel, in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and to raise and launder money in support of its terrorist operations, including the October 7, 2023, attack and massacre."

Alarmed by the talk about the growing role of Qatar and Turkey in the Gaza crisis, a senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer cautioned:

"Qatar and certainly Turkey must not have a foothold in Gaza again. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Jordan hate Hamas and are more concerned about the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Qatar is the one that funded Hamas in the years leading up to October 7.... There is no guarantee that this money will be returned to the recovery of the [Hamas] military wing, and not just to reconstruction projects in Gaza.... The [Israeli] political echelon will have to convince Trump that there is a difference between the Arab countries: Qatar and Turkey are both Muslim Brotherhood members who support Hamas. The UAE and Egypt hate Hamas."

Qatar has been a key financial supporter of Hamas, transferring more than $1.8 billion to the group over the past two decades. Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was the first state leader to visit the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip in 2012. In 2021, Qatar pledged $360 million of annual support to the Gaza Strip, in part to subsidize salaries of Hamas employees.

Documents seized by the IDF during the war reveal Qatar's intensive collaboration with Hamas spanning years, including attempts to thwart regional peace efforts by the US, marginalize Egyptian influence in Gaza, and bolster the roles of Turkey and Iran. Qatar's payments were significant enough that in December 2009, then Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Qatar's foreign minister that the Gulf state's cash was "Hamas's main artery."

In May 2021, Haniyeh (then head of the terror organizations "political bureau") told Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 atrocities, that the emir of Qatar had privately "agreed on discreet financial support" for Hamas. The emir, according to Haniyeh, "agreed in principle to supply [Hamas] discreetly, but he does not want anyone in the world to know. Until now, $11 million has been raised from the emir for the leadership of Hamas."

The documents revealed that Qatari intelligence officials met with a Hamas representative to discuss supervising special training units for Hamas fighters on military bases in Qatar and Turkey, and for the integration of Palestinians who fled Syria (during the civil war there) to Lebanon, into Hamas's terrorist battalions in Lebanon.

According to the documents, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal told the emir of Qatar in 2019: "We must work together to oppose [Trump's] Deal of the Century [peace plan] and eliminate it." The documents showed that Hamas and Qatar planned to marginalize Egypt's role as a mediator between Israel and the terror group, while promoting Turkey's influence in the Middle East.

In 2022, Sinwar wrote to Haniyeh that Turkey should also take a leading role in efforts against Israel:

"It is on you to begin to prepare the campaign. We must begin immediately with our allies – Iran, Qatar, and Turkey. Qatari and Turkish diplomacy must be in a leading role. Our role is to make it hard for the [Israeli] occupation to breathe and ensure the severing of international actors' diplomatic ties with them."

It is laughable -- and dangerous -- to assume that under their current rulers, Qatar and Turkey, as well as Iran, would ever play a positive and constructive role in ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East. These three regimes have always been on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and several Islamist terror groups, including Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Qatar, Turkey and Iran have chosen to side with Hamas and denounce Israel for daring to defend itself against the terror group. Qatar and Turkey are not interested in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Instead, they are interested, with the backing of Iran, in rebuilding Hamas's military and civilian capabilities and ensuring that the terror group, perhaps in some rebranded form, remains in power.

WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald J. Trump has posthumously awarded America’s highest civilian honor to Charlie Kirk, the assassinated born-again Christian activist who inspired a generation of young Americans and others worldwide to embrace their faith and conservative values.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom was presented Tuesday to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, in a solemn White House ceremony on what would have been her husband’s 32nd birthday.

Her voice trembling with emotion, Erika Kirk thanked the president for recognizing her late husband’s legacy.

“Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way. And thank you for making this event a priority,” she said. “Your support of our family and the work that Charlie devoted his life to will be something I cherish forever.”

EMOTIONAL MOMENT AT WHITE HOUSE

At one point, Erika said she had asked their three-year-old daughter what message she wanted to send to her father for his birthday.

“‘Happy birthday, daddy,’” Erika quoted her daughter as saying. “‘I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream. And I want you to go have a birthday surprise. I love you,’ it’s what she said.”

The Rose Garden ceremony came about a month after Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while addressing students at Utah Valley University — a killing that shocked America’s evangelical and conservative communities.

Trump, who also spoke at Kirk’s September funeral, called him “a fearless warrior for liberty and faith” and “a great American hero.” The president said Kirk’s “vision of a nation under God will continue to inspire millions.”

The White House said Kirk was the first person to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Trump’s second term.

TURNING POINT CONTINUES KIRK’S MISSION

The ceremony underscored his legacy. Following Kirk’s death, Turning Point USA announced that his widow, Erika Kirk, had been unanimously appointed its new chair and CEO, fulfilling what the group described as Charlie’s “stated wishes.”

In a statement, Turning Point said its mission would continue “with renewed determination to reach young Americans for freedom, faith, and truth.”

The organization, founded by Kirk in 2012, said it has seen dramatic growth in recent weeks, with tens of thousands of student applications while maintaining a presence at more than 3,500 schools across the United States, including high schools, colleges, and universities.

It also claims to employ field representatives in all 50 states, focusing on “educating students about the principles of limited government, free markets, and Judeo-Christian values.”

SEVERAL FOREIGNERS EXPELLED FROM U.S.

In the aftermath of Kirk’s killing, the U.S. State Department confirmed it revoked the visas of six foreign nationals accused of posting social media messages celebrating his death.

Officials described the move as “a clear statement against political violence and extremism.”

The White House said the Medal of Freedom ceremony honored Kirk’s political engagement and his faith-driven message to young people.

“Charlie’s purpose was never fame or power,” Erika Kirk said in closing remarks. “It was about bringing people to truth — God’s truth — and helping them to live courageously.”

 WASHINGTON / DOHA (Worthy News) – The United States and Qatar have signed a landmark defense agreement that will see Qatari F-15 fighter jets and pilots stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho — a move underscoring both nations’ expanding military and diplomatic ties following the Gaza ceasefire deal.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the agreement Friday at the Pentagon alongside Qatar’s Minister of Defense, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, during an honor cordon ceremony.

“The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training and increase lethal interoperations,” Hegseth said. “It’s just another example of our partnership.”

The new Qatari Emiri Air Force facility will be built within the base, about 50 miles southeast of Boise, Idaho — already home to Singaporean F-15 crews participating in a 25-year joint training program since 2009.

Hegseth praised Qatar for playing a “core part” in helping broker the Gaza peace deal announced earlier this week by President Donald Trump. “You have been a core part of what has unfolded in Gaza — a historic moment,” he said. “We’re grateful for the strong partnership we have, the way you support our troops at Al Udeid, and the close line of communication we’ve shared.”

Qatar’s defense chief called the agreement both a military and diplomatic milestone. “Our nations share a deep relationship grounded in mutual respect and a common vision for peace and stability in the Middle East,” Al Thani said. “Hosting the U.S. forces at Al-Udeid Air Base and now training in Idaho stand as a testament to our collective commitment to regional and global security.”

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) applauded the move, saying it “enhances our partnership with America’s allies and strengthens national security.”

The Mountain Home facility will serve as a permanent U.S.-Qatari training hub, designed to boost joint readiness and interoperability amid shifting Middle East alliances.

“Qatar’s cooperation has been essential to achieving peace in Gaza,” Hegseth added, crediting the Trump administration’s diplomacy. “No one other than President Trump could have achieved what we believe will be a lasting peace.”

Critics of the agreement warned that hosting foreign military forces on U.S. soil — particularly from a Gulf state with deep ties to both Washington and Hamas mediators — raises strategic and political concerns. They argue that while the arrangement strengthens military cooperation, it could also blur national defense priorities and expose the U.S. to potential diplomatic entanglements in Middle Eastern conflicts.

MANILA (Worthy News) – Christian aid workers tell Worthy News they “feel dizzy” and “nervous” as a powerful, deadly earthquake of at least magnitude 7.4 struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, with tsunami warnings issued in several countries and people in nearby coastal areas urged to move inland or to higher ground.

At least two people were killed in the quake, which also damaged a hospital and schools and knocked out power, authorities said.

The quake’s epicenter was located about 43 kilometers (27 miles) east of Manay town, in the Davao Oriental area, at a depth of roughly 23 kilometers (14 miles), officials said. Coastal communities in the region were urged to evacuate inland or to higher ground amid fears of destructive waves. The tsunami warnings extended to parts of Indonesia and Palau before being lifted.

Video footage obtained by Worthy News showed the quake impacting construction workers at a high-rise building in the Philippines’ Davao City, while students at a school in the same city of nearly two million people were seen hiding beneath seats.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., facing his latest natural disaster after a previous earthquake and back-to-back storms, said the potential damage was being assessed. He added that rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and “would be deployed when it was safe to do so.”

RESIDENTS SHOCKED

It came as a shock for residents still coping with the aftermath of a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on September 30 off the coast of northern Cebu province, which killed at least 74 people and injured over 1,000.

“We encounter an earthquake again. I feel dizzy,” said Emely Wagas, a Bible teacher and municipal worker, in a message to Worthy News.

“Even here in Bohol (a province and island outside Davao City), we felt it,” she added. “When it comes to that, I still feel trauma.”

Another Christian aid worker, Merry Joy Osman, told Worthy News: “It’s very alarming here. We run fast downstairs when the office building starts shaking. I have so many headaches. The quake comes as there is flooding in my hometown.”

Osman spoke just weeks after surviving the September 30 quake that struck her area around Cebu City. “We are still without power. I am very nervous,” she added.

The Philippines, a heavily Catholic nation of some 117 million people, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a vast zone of seismic and volcanic activity where most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

  “Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth, because the garden will be theirs, they will fight in the way of Allah and will kill and be killed. It is a promise that is binding on him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. Who fulfills his covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.” (Qur’an 9:111)

The Torah and the Gospel actually do not promise paradise to those who fight in the way of God and kill and are killed. That idea is in the Qur’an only.

Even after this, however, no law enforcement or intelligence officials will dare to consider the possibility that the Qur’an itself is the source of “radicalization.”

New Orleans ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar had bomb-making station and Quran open to chilling passage in his home, new photos reveal,” by Jennie Taer, Chris Nesi and Alex Oliveira, New York Post, January 2, 2025:

HOUSTON – ISIS-inspired New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar kept a bomb-making workbench in his ramshackle Texas trailer home — where a Quran was left open on a page about “slaying” in the name of Allah, exclusive photos obtained by The Post show.
Jabbar’s north Houston home was filled with chemical residue and chemical bottles, while an inventory of items seized by the FBI — left behind by investigators who raided his house on Wednesday — included a long list of compounds used in bomb-making.
His Quran was propped atop a bookshelf, a centerpiece in his living room, and open to a passage reading, “they fight in Allah’s cause, and slay and are slain; a promise binding…”
That passage, Verse 9:111, expounds on Muslims’ responsibility to kill Allah’s enemies, and to be willing to die for that mission in return for eternity in paradise.
Numerous books about Islam were also on the shelf and around the squalid home, while a prayer rug was rolled up nearby.
FBI officials on Thursday said Jabbar posted five disturbing videos on Facebook on his drive from Houston to New Orleans just hours before he unleashed carnage on Bourbon Street, leaving 14 innocent pedestrians dead.
In the first disturbing video — posted at 1:29 a.m. — the US Army veteran said he had initially planned on murdering his family and friends, but changed his mind over concerns that the resulting media coverage wouldn’t focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers,” FBI counterterrorism official Chris Raia said.
In other videos, he said he had joined ISIS “before this summer” and showed off his last will and testament.
Investigators confirmed that Jabbar, 42, was ideologically aligned with ISIS and that he specifically chose Bourbon Street as the target of his monstrous act of terror.
However, they have yet to piece together what precisely brought about his radicalization….
The FBI revealed that Jabbar acted alone in the attack after poring over his social media accounts, conducting “hundreds” of interviews with witnesses and searching three cellphones and two laptops recovered from an Airbnb on Mandeville Street in New Orleans linked to the terror suspect….

ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Christians and human rights activists in Pakistan have sounded the alarm over what they call a new wave of persecution, including church closures, violent evictions, and economic exploitation of Christian families.

In the Christian colony of Essa Nagri in Jaranwala city, the evangelical Outreach Church of Jesus was forcibly closed after repeated threats from Muslim extremists, according to Pakistan-based advocacy group LEAD Ministries.

Pastor Zahid Sarfraz, who founded the church a year and a half ago, said “two men, Haji Waqas and Muhammad Babar,” led a campaign “to intimidate” the congregation and ultimately pressured police to seal the building.

After the closure, the men allegedly demanded that the cross be removed from the church.

Pastor Zahid said even some local pastors, driven by rivalry, sided with Muslim extremists in a village council, known locally as a jirga, that called for the church to remain shut. “We are not only being targeted from outside but betrayed from within,” he said, adding that one church member was forced to leave their home due to threats.

BROADER INTOLERANCE

LEAD Ministries condemned the closure as part of a broader pattern of intolerance across Pakistan, an Islamic nation. “Church planting efforts are being deliberately obstructed by extremist Muslim elements,” said Pastor Imran Amanat, the group’s leader.

Founder Sardar Mushtaq Gill added, “internal jealousy among Christian pastors only strengthens those who persecute us.”

In another case in Vahari District, a Christian family was attacked and driven into hiding after borrowing 30,000 Pakistani rupees (about $108) from an illegal Muslim moneylender for medical bills, Worthy News learned.

Despite repaying nearly 200,000 rupees (roughly $720) in interest, the lender demanded another 500,000 rupees (about $1,800) and allegedly assaulted the family when they refused.

The victim, Faraz Masih, said police “sided with the lender,” filed a false case, and detained his minor son to force compliance. “We live in fear every day,” the family said in a statement shared by LEAD Ministries.

CHRISTIAN FARMER EVICTED

Elsewhere in Sheikhupura District, Christian farmer Zulfiqar Masih and his family were beaten and expelled from their home by a Muslim landlord, Muhammad Fayyaz, who also seized their livestock, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Zulfiqar said he had been forced into unpaid labor and received no help from local authorities.

LEAD Ministries said Zulfiqar’s case “is not merely a personal dispute but a blatant act of religious persecution and economic exploitation.” Pastor Amanat warned that “many Christian families in rural areas suffer the same fate but remain silent out of fear.”

Pakistan’s Christian minority—less than 2 percent of the population—faces persistent threats, including church closures, forced labor, and false blasphemy charges, according to human rights investigators.

LEAD Ministries urged the government and international community to intervene before “another tragedy like Jaranwala” occurs.

“The least we can do,” said Gill, “is ensure these families do not lose their right to worship and justice.”

ASMARA, ERITREA (Worthy News) – Christian advocacy groups are intensifying calls for Eritrea to release seven church leaders who have been held without trial for more than two decades.

The men are reportedly confined at the Wengel Mermera Criminal Investigation Centre, a maximum-security facility in the capital, Asmara, described by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as one of Eritrea’s “atrocious” prisons.

Among those detained since November 2004 are Orthodox priests Gebremedhin Gebregiorgis, Futsum Gebrenegus, and Tekleab Menghisteab, who were active in a renewal movement within the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Despite belonging to one of only four state-recognized faiths, the priests faced harassment under President Isaias Afwerki, who has ruled since independence in 1993, Christians said.

The prolonged detentions have devastated families. Gebrenegus lost both his wife and father while imprisoned. Gebregiorgis’ wife, Tsegeweyni Mekonnen Haile, died of cancer in June 2022, leaving behind her husband and their three children.

Menghisteab, a respected physician at St. Mary Psychiatric Hospital in Asmara at the time of his arrest, saw his wife and three daughters flee Eritrea for their safety.

PASTORS TARGETED

Also imprisoned since 2004 are Pastors Haile Naizge, then chairman of the Full Gospel Church, and Kuflu Gebremeskel, then chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance and a visiting university lecturer.

Naizge’s mother was seriously ill at the time of his arrest and died without being allowed to see her son again.

His wife, Rahel, and their three children were eventually forced to flee and found refuge in North America. Gebremeskel, last seen during guarded hospital visits in 2021, is believed to remain incommunicado at Wengel Mermera.

Another detainee, Pastor Million Gebreselassie—also known as Merond—was arrested in June 2004 while serving as an anesthetist and church leader in the port city of Massawa. Christians said he was initially held at a local police station and later transferred to Wengel Mermera.

In 2005, the Rev. Kidane Weldou, a senior pastor in Asmara and member of Gideons International, a group dedicated to distributing Bibles and New Testaments, was forcibly disappeared on the streets of the capital. Weldou, a married father of four daughters, has not been seen publicly since.

He is widely believed to be among those held at Wengel Mermera.

GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

As details of their detention emerged, Christian groups announced global protests and prayer events around Friday’s International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.

The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), a coalition of Christian organizations in 20 nations, said its first worldwide campaign under the hashtag #Voices4Justice is uniting churches and individuals across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania to pray and call for the leaders’ release.

Events include a rally on Thursday in Washington, D.C., led by 21Wilberforce, Set My People Free, and Christian Freedom International. Beginning at 11 a.m. local time at the Dupont Circle Fountain, participants will march to the Eritrean Embassy to pray and urge the leaders’ release.

Also on Thursday, Christian Solidarity Worldwide scheduled a peaceful protest outside the Eritrean Embassy in London, while in Brazil, the MAIS group plans an online prayer event.

HMK Switzerland (Hilfe für Mensch und Kirche) organized a peaceful protest outside the Eritrean Embassy in Geneva on Friday. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka will host an online prayer event in Colombo, while additional online gatherings are set in Nigeria by CSW Nigeria and in Texas by Freedom Seekers International.

Open Doors is mounting advocacy campaigns in France, Italy, Denmark, Canada, and Sweden. Additional efforts are planned by Set My People Free in Sweden, Voice of the Martyrs Canada and Poland, International Christian Response (ICR), and others in the United States.

RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGION

Eritrea recognizes only four religious groups: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea.

All other groups must register, but no new registrations have been approved since 2002, according to the U.S. State Department.

About 51 percent of Eritrea’s 6.3 million people identify as Sunni Muslims, 41 percent as Orthodox Christians, and 5 percent as Roman Catholics.

The remaining population includes Protestants, other Christians, Baha’is, Shi’a Muslims, traditional religion adherents, atheists, and unaffiliated groups, USCIRF noted.

Christian leaders warn that the ongoing imprisonment of these seven men underscores Eritrea’s broader crackdown on religious freedom and the urgent need for international pressure.

Eritrea ranks sixth on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations where Open Doors says Christians face the most severe persecution, just behind North Korea, followed by Somalia (2), Yemen (3), Libya (4), and Sudan (5).

ISLAMABAD/FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – Christians in Pakistan tell Worthy News they are reeling after two shocking incidents — the murder of three believers in Islamabad and the forced removal of a kidney from a Christian laborer in Faisalabad — which advocacy group LEAD Ministries Pakistan says highlight systemic abuse of religious minorities.

LEAD said the decomposed bodies of Akraam Paul, 60, his 20-year-old son Shabeel, and 22-year-old daughter Nibha were discovered earlier this month in their home in the Ramsha Colony area of the capital. Neighbors raised the alarm after a foul smell spread in the neighborhood.

“The bodies were found with their hands and feet bound. They were tortured to death,” said Mushtaq Sardar Gill, a Christian lawyer and founder of LEAD Ministries Pakistan. He added that the killings underscored a climate of fear for Christian families in the country. No suspects had been detained by Sunday.

“We call upon the concerned authorities and law enforcement agencies to conduct a transparent and fair investigation and ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice. No community should live in fear because of their faith,” Gill told Worthy News.

In a separate case in the city of Samundri in Faisalabad District, daily wage worker Tanvir Masih, a Christian father of four daughters, was allegedly deceived into surgery this month and returned home to learn a kidney had been removed without his consent.

Masih had reportedly turned to his Muslim employer for help with stomach pain. He was then referred to Dr. Muhammad Sadiq Khurshid, a local landowner and physician, who arranged for him to travel to Peshawar for what Masih believed were routine medical tests, Christians said. After surgery, another doctor later told him one kidney had been removed, according to investigators.

“This heartbreaking incident reveals the deep vulnerabilities minorities face in Pakistan,” said Pastor Imran Amanat of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, urging international attention. Gill condemned the case as a “grave human rights violation” and said it reflects the exploitation of Christian laborers and minorities in rural Pakistan, where justice is often denied.

GOVERNMENT PRESSURED

The group urged the Punjab government, other authorities, and international human rights bodies to investigate both cases.

Gill warned that Christian laborers, among the poorest and most marginalized, are especially vulnerable to such abuse, and accountability remains rare.

That observation highlighted broader concerns about Christians in Pakistan, who comprise about 1.6 to 2 percent of the nation’s roughly 240 million people, most of them concentrated in Punjab province. Many work as sanitation workers, domestic helpers, or bonded brick-kiln laborers, Worthy News documented.

Rights groups, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, have observed that Christians rarely own land and often face discrimination in housing, jobs, and access to justice.

Human rights organizations have also reported that in emergencies such as floods or earthquakes, Christians and Hindus are sometimes the last to receive aid.

The recent murders and the exploitation case, advocates say, are part of a larger pattern of systemic discrimination and abuse. “This is not merely unethical medical practice; it is a brutal infringement on basic human rights,” Gill said. “It reflects the exploitation faced by Christian laborers and minorities in rural Pakistan, where justice is often denied.”

LEAD Ministries Pakistan asked Christians worldwide to pray for the grieving family in Islamabad and for justice for Tanvir Masih.

HUBEI, CHINA (Worthy News) – Nearly 30 Christians in China’s Hubei province are on trial after being accused of organizing and using an “evil cult to undermine law enforcement,” charges rights advocates say are part of ongoing persecution of believers in the Communist-run nation.

The defendants, members of the evangelical Word of Life Church, were indicted in Suizhou city after security forces broke up a prayer meeting earlier this year, Worthy News learned. They stand accused of so-called “xie jiao,” the Chinese term for “cult activities” applied to movements regarded as antigovernment and socially dangerous, including evangelical groups.

Authorities cited activities such as preaching, discipleship training, prayer meetings, Easter celebrations, communion, and testimonies—practices prosecutors labeled “propaganda of cult doctrines,” according to sources familiar with the case.

Defense lawyers insist the charges have no legal basis and “violate China’s constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.” They stressed that widely used discipleship materials, including No Longer the Same, New Life, and The Path of Discipleship, were “wrongly classified as evidence of cult activity.”

Several Christians testified that money, jewelry, and belongings disappeared during their arrests, with no official confiscation records provided, raising suspicions of private appropriation by authorities, said advocacy group ChinaAid.

“Imagine the door bursting open during your quiet prayer meeting in Suizhou, Hubei—authorities storming in, handcuffs clinking as they label your faith a cult,” ChinaAid told Worthy News.

‘TWISTED EVIDENCE’

“Cherished discipleship resources like No Longer the Same are twisted as evidence of heresy, while seized cash and jewelry vanish without a trace,” the group noted.

The church’s pastor, Zhao Tianen, promoted a “Three Transformations” concept encouraging Christians to serve society, but authorities labeled it a potential threat to public order. Even the church’s marriage counseling services were accused of having “improper motives.”

The case remains ongoing, but observers say it highlights China’s tightening crackdown on independent Christian groups. On Christmas Day 2024, prosecutors in Tibet charged another 10 Word of Life members, while five leaders of the related Shenyang Kelta Youth Fellowship—Pastor Mingdao, Brother Wang Xiangchao, Brother Shao, Sister Liu, and Sister Gu—also face prosecution, ChinaAid stressed.

The indictment list of 28 believers shared with Worthy News included Christians identified as Liu Xuxue, Su Minkai, Wang Xueli, Zhou Xiaoxuan, Zhang Manli, Chen Chuanzhen, Yang Pingping, Li Zhuanyun, Ren Jianhua, Qiu Huiming, Song Yude, Ma Fuxiu, Fanin Ji Hongyan, Xang Ji Hongyan, Wang Yiqin, Zhang Daojiang, Wang Daozhou, Li Jing, Cai Wu, Yang Zhijin, Tang Shunqiang, Hu Junling, Liu Yongshan, Yang Hengqin, Guo Mingjun, and Zhou Xiunong.

China is consistently ranked among the world’s worst violators of religious liberty. On the annual World Watch List of the advocacy group Open Doors, China appears in the top 20 countries where it says Christians face the most persecution.

Open Doors cites surveillance technology, forced church closures, detentions, and repressive “sinicization” policies that attempt to bring Christianity under Communist Party control as key reasons for China’s high ranking.

Despite reported persecuted, the Christian faith continues to spread in China with at least nearly 100 million people identifying as Christians, according to Open Doors researchers. Other sources say the real figure may be as high as 130 million Christians among a population of 1.4 billion people.

 China (International Christian Concern)  –  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government is rewriting portions of the Bible in an effort to increase its control over religion in country, according to U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI).  In a meeting of the House Select Committee on the CCP, Rep. Gallagher stated that Chairman Xi Jinping is on a “quest to make the faithful serve the party rather than God.”

Rep. Gallagher referenced a statement from Chairman Xi during the 19th Party Congress in 2017 that declares the intent to pursue “the Sinicization of Chinese religions and provide active guidance for religion and socialism to coexist.” Besides attempting to control Christian doctrine and practice, the CCP is persecuting other Buddhist and Muslim ethnic minorities, according to Rep. Gallagher.

The CCP sees itself as possessing absolute authority over religion in China. For example, in 2018, the Vatican compromised with the CCP on the prerogative to appoint Roman Catholic clergy in China. Multiple sources have warned that the CCP aims to select the next Dalai Lama—the supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Thus, the CCP forcing the church to be subservient to the state infringes the Western conception of religious liberty, which is founded on the Christian understanding of the church and the state as distinct institutions ordained by God.

Rep. Gallagher cited two cases of the CCP rewriting portions of the Bible. The first from the account in the Gospel of John of Jesus telling the woman caught in adultery to “go, and from now on sin no more,” after telling the scribes and Pharisees, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:3-11, ESV).” A textbook from a Chinese university appeared in 2020 with the account from the Gospel of John rewritten to end with “Jesus himself stoning the adulterous woman to death,” according to Rep. Gallagher.

The second is a report that CCP authorities in Henan province “forced Protestant churches to replace the Ten Commandments with Xi Jinping quotes,” changing the first commandment from, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” (Exodus 20:3, KJV) to, “Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology.”

Two Christian pastors at the Congressional meeting testified on persecution in China, noting that many Chinese pastors and Christians are undeterred. International Christian Concern (ICC) recently published a report describing the growth of the underground church in Iran, where government repression seems to cause the church to grow rather than stifle it.  As the early church father Tertullian wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

In 135 A.D., following the suppression of the revolt by the Maccabees, the Roman overlords of what was then called Judaea decided to change its name to “Syria Palaestina” — “Syria of the Philistines” — which was then shortened to “Palestine.” The Romans wanted to efface, through a change of toponym, the connection of the Jews to the land that was made obvious in the place name “Judaea.” They also attempted to change the name “Jerusalem” to “Aelia Capitolina” but, unlike “Palestine,” that place name never caught on.

During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the Arab Legion of Jordan — led by British officers under John Bagot Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”) — managed to seize and hold onto the territory that had been known, for more than 3,000 years, not just to the Jewish people but to everyone in the Western world, as “Judea and Samaria.” It would never do, the Jordanian Arabs believed, to continue to use the toponyms “Judea and Samaria,” which would remind people of who had inhabited that territory for millennia. So, like the Romans with their toponymic change — “Judaea” becoming “Palestine” — nearly 1800 years before, the Jordanians, after a year of reflection (the war officially ended in 1949), in 1950 decided to replace “Judea and Samaria” with the place name “West Bank.” It is a most peculiar appellation. After all, the riparian zone along a river is usually envisioned as of a uniform width, but the Jordanians’ “West Bank” is shaped like an ear. The Jordanians, and their fellow Arabs, by dint of repetition, made sure that “West Bank” was used so often, came more trippingly off the tongue than “Judea and Samaria” (it helped that people were uncertain whether “Judea and Samaria” were two distinct places, inked by a conjunction, or constituted one territory) and stuck so well in the popular mind, that it pushed “Judea and Samaria” out of common usage, save by the Israelis themselves. Even non-Israeli Jews now use the term “West Bank.”

People outside of Israel, including orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians, who persisted in using “Judea and Samaria,” found that “West Bank” had become so widely adopted that it was they who experienced a certain self-consciousness about using “Judea and Samaria.” “West Bank” is now used everywhere; it is up to us to undo that offense to history. When the Western media reports on Israelis, especially on those much-maligned “settlers,” they are often described as “using the Biblical terms Judea and Samaria,” as if that made such usage illegitimate. In other words, the fact that these place names had been used for three millennia by Jews and the rest of the Western world was not a point in their favor, but rather, was held against them. Amusing, isn’t it, that those people who would dismiss the use of “Judea and Samaria” because they are Biblical names have no objection to using the toponym “Gaza,” which is also a place name found in the Bible.

Now Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York have introduced a bill requiring the U.S. government to drop that preposterous “West Bank,” and to use the venerable, correct, imbued with history, place names “Judea and Samaria.” It’s an important bill; if it passes, it will put back into general circulation, by government fiat, “Judea and Samaria.” If every time a government official, from Trump and Rubio on down, gives a press conference, or holds a Congressional hearing, uses the terms “Judea and Samaria,” it will be an important victory, with the world being reminded that this territory has for more than three millennia been linked to the Jewish people; it was in Judea and Samaria, not in Haifa and Tel Aviv, where their history was made.

More about the legislation introduced Tom Cotton when he announced his resolution can be found here.

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act, legislation to require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the historically accurate term “Judea and Samaria” instead of the “West Bank”. This bill would require the use of historically accurate terminology and align U.S. policy language with the geographical and cultural significance of the region. This legislation was introduced in the House by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-New York).
“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel,” said Senator Cotton.
“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This bill reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory. I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

To some this will seem a minor matter. “Words, words, words,” as Hamlet said to Polonius. It is not. It is important to escort back into common usage the words, including place names, that the Arabs have managed to push aside and replaced with others that diminish or efface altogether, the Jewish link to the land. Senator Cotton and Congresswoman Tenney deserve the gratitude of all those who care about history and the truth.

Striking “West Bank’” And Inserting “Judea and Samaria”

The bill making this change of place-name mandatory throughout the American government has now been introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (D.-Ark) and Representative Claudia Tenney (D.-NY). It can be found here.
A BILL
To prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘‘West Bank’’, and for other purposes.
1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retiring the Egregious   Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act’’.
118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
Striking “West Bank’” And Inserting “Judea and Samaria”
The bill introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (D.-Ark) and Representative Claudia Tenney (D.-NY) can be found here. https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/west_bank.pdf
A BILL
To prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘‘West Bank’’, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SEC.1 SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retiring the Egregious   Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act’’.
118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
2  It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government—
(1) should refer to the land annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War by its historical names of ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’, with the land south of Jerusalem being considered ‘‘Judea’’
and the land north of Jerusalem being considered ‘Samaria’’; and
(2) should no longer use the term ‘‘West Bank”  in official government materials.
2. SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MATERIALS THAT USE THE TERM ‘‘WEST BANK’’.

3. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available after the date of the enactment of this Act may be obligated or expended to prepare or promulgate any policy, guidance, regulation, in this section if the Secretary—determines that is in the interests of the United States to do so; and
(2) submits to Congress an explanation for the waiver not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary makes the determination.
  SEC. 4. CONFORMING CHANGES TO UNITED STATES LAW. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—The For- Assistance Act of 1961 is amended as follows:(1) In section 620K(f)(3) (22 U.S.C. 2378b(f)(3)), by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(2) In section 620L (22 U.S.C. 2378c)—
(A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘THE WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(b) TAYLOR FORCE ACT.—Section 1004 of the Tay- lor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2378c–1) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘THE WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(c) MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND OBSERVERS PAR- TICIPATION RESOLUTION.—Section 2 of the Multinational Force and Observers Participation Resolution (22 U.S.C. 3421) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(d) OMNIBUS DIPLOMATIC SECURITY AND ANTITERRORISM ACT OF 1986.—Section 414 of the Om- nibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4862) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(e) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL FREE TRADE AREA IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 1985.—Section  9 of the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (Public Law      99–47; 19 U.S.C. 2112 note) is amend-ed by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(f) IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007.—Section 2021(i) of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(g) FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FIS-CAL YEAR 2003.—Section 699 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 228; 22 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(h) NITA M. LOWEY MIDDLE EAST PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE ACT.—Section 8005 of the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (division K of Public Law 116–260) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.

Got it?  STRIKE “West Bank” and INSERT “Judea and Samaria.”

O where? Here, there, and everywhere.

 More fraying of the leftist-Islamic alliance. Whatever one thinks of the flying of gay flags, imagine the outcry if an all-Christian city council had banned the flag. But this will pass largely unnoticed. 

“Democrat judge in America’s ‘Muslim capital’ BANS gay pride flags after Islamic outrage,” by Eliot Force, Daily Mail, September 14, 2025:

A federal judge has upheld a ban on gay pride flags after a years-long battle by an all-Muslim city council to remove the rainbow because it did not reflect their community’s values.
The court found that Hamtramck, an enclave surrounded by Detroit with a significant Muslim immigrant population, did not violate the US Constitution when it banned the flag from public buildings in 2023.
After a pride flag was flown in the city during Pride Month in 2021 and 2022, the city council said it clashed with the beliefs of some residents, so they voted to allow only five flags to be flown on publicly-owned property.
US District Judge David Lawson, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, dismissed a lawsuit that was brought against the city for its flag restrictions, saying the ban was okay because the policy targeted all private flags.
‘Hamtramck’s refusal to display the Gay Pride flag did not violate the Constitution,’ the judge said.
Hamtramck has a population of around 27,000, and more than 40% of its residents are immigrants. A large proportion of them are Muslim with Yemeni or Bangladeshi descent….