They say – “Muslim Americans encouraged, hopeful after Obama”

Iraqi Americans Wasan Alqaisi and Sumer Majid made a Fourth of July family picnic of kebab — served on hamburger buns with slices of American cheese.

Celebrating Independence Day in the U.S. capital, the two Muslim women were doing what generations of Americans have done before them: blending their faith and lifestyle with a U.S. national identity.

Eight years after Middle East militants carried out the September 11 attacks, Muslim Americans are raising their profile, encouraged by the election of Barack Obama, a U.S. president proud of his Kenyan father’s Muslim heritage.

The president, who is a Christian, used his middle name, Hussein, at his inauguration. He called for new dialogue with Islamic nations and named a special envoy for the Middle East on his second full day in office.

“We are more optimistic about the future for us here,” said Alqaisi, an accountant. “They changed the way they communicate with the Muslim countries. We feel like we have more value here now. We hope that will continue in the future.”

Read the details at: reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE56C00D20090713

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Prayers and Needs

Please pray for the first ever All Africa Region Leadership Meeting which is being held in South Africa, July 13-17, 2009. We believe that this will be a great meeting with over 100 national board-level leaders in attendance coming from all parts of Africa.  Pray for safety as they journey.

Update on Steve and Barbara Willoughby (Singapore):

Dear Friends:
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men.

I am pleased to inform you that both Bishop and Sis Willoughby have made significant progress in their respective battles with cancer this past week. Sis Barbara Willoughby has one last radiation session tomorrow.  With the radiation to her spine coming to an end, Sis Willoughby is delighted that strength is returning to her legs enabling to her to walk with less pain and effort. She continues to hold on to her promise of complete healing.

Bro Steve Willoughby has had intensive physiotherapy as an inpatient over the past week.  The physiotherapy has helped to strengthen his legs, his left leg in particular, and to improve his mobility tremendously.

The Willoughby family has journeyed through cancer sustained on the prayers of manyaround the world. This week, the Apostolic Center of Mattoon, Illinois is endeavouring to organise a global prayer during which everyone who wishes to participate in this special initiative prays for God to bring healing and strength to the Willoughbys.  Apostolic Center asks you to join with them in prayer and fasting from Monday, 6 July thru Wednesday, 8 July. You are encouraged to join them in a time of focused prayer on Wednesday, July 8th from 8.00 – 10.00 pm (CST), in Asia this will be on Thursday, 9th July, 9.00 am – 11.00 am. 1 Corinthians 2:5 states “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” Let us stand together and believe that the tipping point on the journey to healing and wholeness for the Willoughbys is in our prayers..  Apostolic Center has prepared a video presentation to encourage others to join them in this prayer. You can view it at www.apostoliccenter.org.
May your week ahead overflow with His grace, mercy and love.
Resting in His Word

Sandra Subner
On behalf of
Tabernacle of Joy Singapore

Information from wnop.org

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About “Needs” Issues and Concerns

Authorities say seven people have been killed and 70 injured in a subway train collision in Washington DC. The city’s mayor Adrian Fenty held a press conference where he revised an earlier reported death toll of nine. Carriages of one of the trains came to rest on top of the other after the collision near a station during evening rush hour on Monday, officials said. The female driver of the moving train – which crashed into the back of a stationary train – was among the dead. The crash – the worst in the 33 years of the Metro system – happened above ground between Fort Totten and Takoma at 1700 local time.

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania – Gunmen attempting to kidnap an American man in Mauritania on Tuesday shot and killed him when he tried to resist, a police officer in the West African nation said. Neighbors said the middle-aged man taught at a center specializing in computer science in El Kasr, a lower-class neighborhood in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital. Two men had initially tried to abduct him, but they shot him when they realized they could not overpower him, said the police officer, who did not give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The embassy in Nouakchott could not immediately be reached for comment. The victim’s identity was not immediately released. Extremist violence in Mauritania, a moderate Muslim nation, has increased. In 2007, a group of French picnickers was killed. The gunmen were believed to be linked to al-Qaida’s north Africa branch and the incident prompted organizers of the famous Dakar Rally to cancel the trans-Sahara car race.

From: WNOP.org Team

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“…run out of food to provide for nine million Ethiopians”

The UN has warned that it has run out of food to provide for nine million Ethiopians who rely on its assistance. A UN spokesman told the BBC the port of Djibouti was seriously congested and there was little prospect of supplies arriving for the next five months. Following a border war, Eritrea denied Ethiopia access to its ports, so the landlocked country relies on Djibouti. Correspondents say this time of year is known as “the hunger season”, three months before the next harvest. The UN World Food Programme says breast-feeding mothers, children and refugees will be among those worst hit.  It warns after it hands out final rations this month there will be no further deliveries until September or October.  The agency says it has no option but to cut back on the food they provide, which has already been cut by a third since July 2008.

TEHRAN, Iran – Violence erupted at a rally in central Tehran on Tuesday as plainclothes militia beat protesters with sticks, hours after Iran’s powerful Guardian Council said it was ready to recount specific ballot boxes following last week’s disputed presidential election.  According to eyewitnesses, the militia members circled the demonstrators on motorcycles before striking them. Some of the plainclothes officials chanted “Death to America.”   The crowd swelled to about 100,000 people in about 3 hours, witnesses said. Banners carried by some at the rally described reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi as “Our True President”.  After images were shown around the world of mass protests and violence following the disputed election, the government announced a crackdown on journalists Tuesday.  Authorities restricted journalists, including Iranians working for foreign media, from reporting on the streets, and said they could only work from their offices, conducting telephone interviews and monitoring official sources such as state television.  Iranian officials also said they will not extend the visas of foreign reporters who covered the election.

FROM: WMOP.org

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Ten Commandments monument…”has the primary effect of endorsing religion.”

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Ten Commandments monument outside Oklahoma’s Haskell County Courthouse “has the primary effect of endorsing religion.”  A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to federal Judge Ronald White so he could issue a new ruling consistent with theirs. White previously rejected arguments that the monument promotes Christianity at the expense of other religions. The latest ruling prompted Haskell County Commissioner Mitch Worsham to say, “Whoever was the judge in this, I feel sorry for him on Judgment Day.” Haskell County’s attorneys can now ask all the judges on the appellate court to review the panel’s decision, or appeal the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

More than 200 people died when the cyclone ripped through West Bengal and Bangladesh last week. An estimated one-million people have been driven from their homes and thousands have lost their homes and possessions.

A California pastor received the apology he was seeking from San Diego County officials who had ordered him and his wife not to hold a Bible study in their home without a permit. In letters released Wednesday, San Diego County attorney John Sansone and Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard rescinded the previous cease and desist order and apologized to David Jones and his wife, Mary, who were told they could be fined $100 to $1,000 if they continued the Bible studies. Ekard said the county had received complaints from a neighbor about traffic and parking issues. Jones, pastor of South Bay Community Church, said the calls may have been prompted when a Bible study member hit a car belonging to a neighbor’s visitor. But the Joneses’ attorney, Dean Broyles of the Western Center for Law and Policy, questioned the parking concern.

According to One News Now, Broyles said the county code enforcer asked the couple questions such as “Do you sing?” and “Do you say, ‘Praise the Lord?’” Broyles argued that the couple’s First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion were being violated, and dozens of others agreed, flooding Ekard’s office with calls and e-mails. Last week county officials said Jones could continue leading the Bible studies without a permit, but the pastor said he wanted an apology and the decision in writing. “We want something very clearly that states people can pray in homes and have friends over and read [the] Bible together and study a bit,” Jones told the San Diego ABC affiliate 10News. In his letter, Sansone said the county had determined that the couple does not need a major use permit to host their weekly Bible studies, which average 15 people and involve dinner and fellowship. In a separate letter, Ekard apologized to Jones, his wife and their congregation for the “unfortunate events.”

He said no citation should have been issued and that the county code enforcement officer who visited the couple “incorrectly made the finding based in no small measure on unclear language in the zoning ordinance.”

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