Persecution of the Day

From Mission Network News:

Bernie Daniel with Voice of the Martyrs-Canada says the details about the April 22^nd killing have only recently emerged. “A Christian brother by the name of David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali who was only 29 years old–an active evangelist–was killed by the same militia that avowed the attacks on the teachers, the Al Shabab militia, which is a militant Islamic organization affiliated with Al Qaeda.”

According to a report from the International Christian Concern, David converted to Christianity in 1995. He was living in Yemen but had to flee to Ethiopia because of government persecution. This April, David returned to Somalia to visit family, where Al Shabab found him.

The group is fighting to implement Sharia law in Somalia and create an Islamic state. They have vowed to eradicate Christianity. That threat causes great concern for the church body there. Less than three percent of the population is Christian, and the rest is Sunni Muslim.

Al Shabab has claimed responsibility for killing four Christians over the last six months. Daniel believes this will intensify. “The situation for our Christian brethren in Somalia is very dire. It’s a very tiny community in a militant Islamic society, so there is a kind of open season on Christians in Somalia.”