Al-Shabaab militants kill Somali legislators over ‘invasion of Christians’

The following article comes from the World Magazine website and the original article can be read here. Please pray for Somalia and paticularly for the persecuted Christians of this country.-RCMS

Al-Shabaab fighters "...
we want to wipe out any underground Christian living inside of mujahidin [jihadists’] area.”

 

By Julia A. Seymour

Islamic extremists with al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for last week’s killing of two Somali legislators who had voted to accept financial support from the West. The al-Qaeda-linked group threatened to continue the violence.

In a radio broadcast, al-Shabaab representatives said the group was behind the two gunmen who shot and killed Abdiaziz Isaq Mursal as he stepped out of his home April 22. They ambushed him in the Madina district of Mogadishu, according to senior police officer Ali Hassan.

A day earlier, the group killed legislator Isaq Mohamed Rino in a car bombing. Another lawmaker traveling with him was wounded. Somalian Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed condemned the “cowardly attack.”

“The use of terror will not derail us from the progress made in securing Somalia, it only serves to unite and strengthen our resolve to defeat all forms of terrorism and violence,” Ahmed said in a statement.
Al-Shabaab’s military spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, warned that, “More serious killings are on the way,” Reuters reported. The group meant the car bombing as punishment for the government allowing the “invasion of the Christians into Somalia,” according to Reuters.

International Christian Concern (ICC) said in a press release that al-Shabaab’s statement referenced the “lawmakers’ vote to accept financial support from Western governments and members of the African Union who have sent troops into Somalia.”

“More must be done to protect the small and extremely vulnerable population of Christians in Somalia and all those who stand for their rights,” ICC said following the killings.

Somalia is one of the worst countries for Christians, ranked second only to North Korea, according to Voice of the Martyrs. A 2012 U.S. State Department report on religious freedom said al-Shabaab persecutes Somali Christians and threatens both secular and faith-based aid groups.

ICC said militants with al-Shabaab are suspected in the murder of a Christian woman, known as Sufia, who was dragged out of her home and shot to death earlier this month. “The group adheres to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that includes the beheading of converts from Islam, or, as we’ve witnessed in Sufia's case, execution by firing squad,” ICC spokesman William Stark said in a statement.

In March, Morning Star News (MSN) reported al-Shabaab publicly beheaded two people after learning they were Christians. MSN was told the militant announced, “We know these two people are Christians who recently came back from Kenya—we want to wipe out any underground Christian living inside of mujahidin [jihadists’] area.”

Al-Shabaab fought for years to install an Islamic government in Somalia and controlled the capital from 2006 to 2011, in addition to many rural areas. UN-supported African Union forces including Kenyans and Ugandans drove al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu in late 2011. Since then, al-Shabaab has continued to terrorize Somalis and occasionally retaliate in other countries, including the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, where they killed at least 67 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Persecution Update: Christian Convert publically executed in Somalia

Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ sufferred cruelly for our sins, may His glorious Passion and Death be a source of strength and comfort to our persecuted brethren. Lord have mercy on us!

Yet another attack against the small Christian minority in Somalia. What is worrying about this incident is that it occurred in the capital city of Mogadishu, which seems to corroborate the fact that the security situation is in fact getting worse. But what is also disconcerting is the silence of the government on this particular attack, why is this Christian woman's death ignored, when she was blatantly executed in front of a crowd in government controlled territory? We know that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, may the blood shed by this heroine of the Faith serve to be a pledge of grace and mercy for her countrymen. Please continue to pray for the persecuted Church in Somalia and for her persecutors, but also for lasting peace and stablity in this country. This article is taken from Charisma News and can be read from the original source here.-RCMS

"Suspected al-Shabab militants have murdered a woman professing the Christian faith earlier this month after breaking and entering into her home in Mogadishu.

Sufia was at home with her parents when a group of armed men burst into her home. Leaving her parents untouched, the men grabbed Sufia, forcefully dragged her from the home at gunpoint, and then publicly shot her, firing into the on-looking crowd as friends and neighbors attempted to save her.

Immediately following the execution, Sufia's killers fled the scene. Despite ongoing efforts by police to locate them, Sufia's murderers remain at-large as of this release. The suspected work of al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist network in Somalia, Sufia's death could be the third al-Shabaab murder this month.

On April 22, Mogadishu Parliamentarian Abdiaziz Isaaq Mursal was the second Somali lawmaker killed by al-Shabab militants in less than 48 hours for allowing the "invasion of the Christians into Somalia," referencing lawmakers' vote to accept financial support from Western governments and members of the African Union who have sent troops into Somalia to oppose Islamist rebel groups.
 
Isak Mohamed Rino, a fellow Parliamentarian, was the victim of an exploded bomb placed beneath his car on the morning of April 21. In response to the attacks, al-Shabab's spokesperson, Ali Dhere, was recorded on al-Shabab's Andulus radio in Barawe town saying, "We are on war against the apostates in Mogadishu. We will keep carrying attacks, targeting their lawmakers."

According to al-Shabab, all Somalis are born Muslims by default. Somalis found practicing other religions are considered guilty of apostasy. According to the fundamentalist brand of Islam al-Shabaab adheres to, apostasy occurs when a Muslim leaves Islam for another faith and should be put to death.

Several of the nation's leaders have publicly condemned the attacks on the two murdered Somali Parliamentarians; however, a public condemnation of the systematic execution of Somali Christians has yet to be heard. Speaking on the deaths of the two parliamentarians, president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said Sunday the "culture of lawlessness that has plagued Somalia for the last 23 years is coming to an end." Though similar calls to action have been made in the past, al-Shabaab continues to enjoy complete freedom in its sustained push to eradicate Somalia of its Christian population.

"Al-Shabab is an Islamic extremist group that has vowed to make Somalia 'purely Islamic,' " says International Christian Concern Regional Manager for Africa, William Stark. "The group adheres to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that includes the beheading of converts from Islam, or, as we've witnessed in Sufia's case, execution by firing squad.

"The group continues to terrorize not just Christians in Somalia, but any act, person, or policy that could be construed as supportive of Christianity in Somalia. As more Somalis return to Somalia following the establishment of the new government, steps must be taken to protect Christians and other religious minorities. The practice of kidnapping, torturing and publicly executing converts from Islam must be addressed by the international community and should have no place in modern society."

This article originally appeared on persecution.org

Somalia's Judeao-Christian heritage, by Ben I Aram

"The following article gives a fascinating overview of Somalia's Judeao-Christian past. While not an exhaustive article, this 'preliminary survey' gives enough evidence to show that Somalia and Somalis had been influenced by Christianity before the advent of Islam; which also helps to dispel the myth that Christianity is 'foreign' to Somali culture. This article was not written by a Catholic and some statements would perhaps be questionable from a Catholic point of view, but nonetheless it is a very interesting article, and a must read for those who wish to understand more about Somalia's past. Click the link below to read the article in full."-RCMS

http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ajet/22-2_003.pdf

Sarakiciddii Ciise, halleluuya, halleluuya, halleluuya!

“Sabtida markii la dhaafay, aroortii ee maalinta ugu horraysa ee Sabtida kaddib, Maryantii reer Magdala iyo Maryantii kale waxay u yimaadeen inay xabaashii eegaan. Haddaba, bal eeg, dhulgariir weyn ayaa dhacay! Waayo, malaa’igta Rabbiga ayaa intay samada ka soo degtay oo soo dhowaatay, ayay dhagaxii dilindilleysay, oo weliba waa ku dul fadhiisatay. Oo muqaalkeeduna wuxuu ahaa sida hillaaca oo kale, dharkeeduna wuxuu u caddaa sida barafka oo kale. Kuwii ilaalada ahaana cabsi iyada ka qabeen darteed ayay la gariireen, waxayna noqdeen sida dad dhintay oo kale. Balse malaa’igtii iyadoo jawaabaysa, waxay dumarkii ku tiri: ‘Waa inaydaan baqin, waayo, waxaan ogahay inaad raadinaysaan Ciisihii saliibka lagu qodbay. Isagu halkan ma joogo, waayo, waa sarakacay, siduu yiri. Bal kaalaya oo eega meeshuu yiillay. Haddaba intaad dhaqsi u baxdaan, u soo sheega xertiisii inuu kuwii dhintay ka soo sarakacay, iyo inuu imminka Galili idinka hortagayo; halkaas ayaad isaga ku arki doontaan. Bal ogaada, waan idiin sheegayee.’ ”-Matayos 28:1-7

Boqoradda jannadooy (xilliga Baska)

Reyree, boqoradda jannadooy, halleluuya.

Waayo kii aad istaahishey in aad siddo, halleluuya,

wuu sarakacay siduu ballanqaaday, halleluuya.

Ilaah noo bari, halleluuya.

+ Reyree oo farax Maryan cadradeey, halleluuya.

- Waayo runtii Rabbigu wuu sarakacay, halleluuya.

AAN TUKANNO: Ilaahoow, adigoo sarakicidda Inankaaga, Rabbigeenna Ciise Masiix, kaga farxiyey dunida; noo oggolow, waa ku baryeynaa, in hooyadiis Maryan oo cadrad ah awgeed, aannu gaarno farxadda nolosha daa’imiska ah.  Masiixa Rabbigeenna fadligiisa.Aamiin.

Sharafi ha u ahaato Aabbaha, iyo Wiilka, iyo Ruuxa Qudduska; siday horraantii ahayd, hadda u tahay, weligeedna ha u ahaato. Aamiin. (seddax goor)

Hoosanna ha u ahaato ina Daa’uud!

“Goortay Yeruusaalem ku soo dhowaadeen oo ay Beytfaaje, oo xagga Buur Saytuun ah, galeen, markaas Ciise ayaa laba xer ah diray isagoo ku leh: ‘Taga tuulada idinka soo horjeedda, durba waxaad arki doontaan dameer xiran, iyo qayl la jooga; soo fura oo ii wada keena. Haddii mid uun wax idinku yiraahdo, waxaad ku oran doontaan: Rabbiga ayaa u baahan, oo durba wuu soo diri doonaa.’ 

Haddaba waxyaalahan oo dhan waa ay dhaceen, si ay u fulaan wixii nebiga lagu sheegay, isagoo leh: ‘Gabadha Siyoon u sheega: bal eeg, boqorkaagu waa kuu imaanayaa, isagoo camal qabow, oo fuushan dameer uu la jiro qayl ka dhashay dameer la rarto.’ 

Markaas xertii ayaa baxday oo yeeleen sidii Ciise ku amray, oo waxay Ciise u keeneen dameerkii iyo qaylkii; markaasay dharkoodii dusha ka saareen, wuuna ku dul fadhiistay. Dad farabbadan dharkoodii ayay jidka ku gogleen; qaar kalena geedaha ayay laamo ka soo gooyeen oo waxay ku firdhiyeen jidka. Dadkii badnaa oo horsocday iyo kuwii dabasocdayba waxay ku qaylinayeen, iyagoo leh: ‘Hoosanna ha u ahaato ina Daa’uud! Waxaa barakaysan kan magaca Rabbiga ku yimaada! Hoosanna ha ka yeerto meesha ugu sarraysa!’”- Matayos 21: 1-9