July 2009

CHRISTIAN DIES IN PRISON by Dr. Pat

Ned and his son Will, who were Christians, had a business, trucking in hay for animal feed, which they sold to the local village inhabitants.  They stored the hay up on the roof of their typical flat roofed house on a narrow street.  They were making a profit, but a local radical Muslim group felt Christians should not make a profit, that was reserved for Muslim merchants.

The radical Muslim group came to Ned's house and burned it.  Some Muslims in the neighborhood supported the radicals while other Muslims and the Christians supported Ned. The argument threatened to expand to the whole village so the police came and took Ned and some of the radicals to jail. 

Ned complained saying "I am the victim", but the police didn't listen.  Instead they let the Muslim radicals go and kept Ned claiming they were keeping him in prison to "protect him".  He was very badly treated in the prison.  Ned went in a fat man, but with the abuse and bad food he became extremely emaciated and eventually died.

Ned’s family, reeling from his death, was soon faced with another problem.  Before Ned died, he had purchased some farm land.  After he died, the radicals approached other Muslims in the area who hate Christians; pooled their resources, built a house on the land and began to farm it. 

Will, Ned's son protested this action and brought a photocopy of the deed to these Muslims to prove ownership, but they disputed his claim.  They said that they have owned the land for a long time.  Will did what he could.  He brought his claim to a judge who ruled in Will's favor, but then ruled that he would have to pay the radicals for the improvements to the property at a huge sum that Will had no chance of obtaining.  So at this point in time, the family has lost Ned and also the land that was to sustain them in the future.

Please pray for this family, for their safety and God's provision for them.