K-House eNews

For The Week Of June 09, 2009

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**ARTICLES AND COMMENTARY**

ELECTIONS OFFER A POTENTIAL NEW FACE FOR IRAN - (Print)

For the past four years, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has grated the West with his hatred for Israel, his Holocaust minimization, and his persistent nuclear ambitions. Yet, while he ran in 2005 as a populist, a regular guy who would work for the people, the people of Iran may be disenchanted with him. Iranian elections on June 12th could give the leadership of Iran a new face and perhaps a new voice to the world.

Supporters of both leading hardliner President Ahmadinejad and leading reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi rallied on Monday to promote their favorite presidential candidates. The two groups were marked by colors – Ahmadinejad's supporters wore the colors of the Iranian flag as they gathered 100,000 strong at The Grand Mosque in Tehran. Mousavi's supporters wore green, the color of Mousavi's campaign.

Mousavi:
Mousavi's supporters are enthused, to put it mildly. While they were prevented by the government from gathering at the huge Azadi Stadium, reform-minded individuals still flooded by the thousands onto Vali-e Asr Avenue, the 15-mile long major thoroughfare that runs through Tehran. And they did not just gather. Green-clad supporters made a human chain that they claimed stretched from the north end to the south end of the major road.

"Thanks to Internet and text messages, we can rally big crowds in a very short time," noted student organizer Mohsen Ghadiri, 19, who wore a green shirt with Mousavi's portrait.

Mousavi has complained that the state television in Iran supports Ahmadinejad. The Internet has therefore become a major medium for reform candidates like Mousavi to get their messages out to the people. Ahmadinejad's political advisor Javad Shamaqdari accused Mousavi's followers of being a little too digital, saying, "Even though it is bad for their mental health, Mousavi's supporters spend hours on the Internet." In other words, Iranians have another source of information than simply what the state wants them to hear.

Iran has felt the economic pinch as much as the rest of the world, and Mousavi is considered by many to be the right man to turn things around. He was Prime Minister of Iran (the last to hold that extinct post) during the war with Iraq, and was successful in keeping limited supplies well-rationed so that people had their basic needs met. He helped the economy back in the 1980s when Iran was in a difficult time, and many believe he can help Iran again.

Mousavi has also impressed many of Iran's moderates by having his wife campaign with him. She holds hands with him at campaign rallies and she even gives speeches. While she wears traditional clothing in public, Mousavi's willingness to campaign with his wife demonstrates a Western approach that pleases the young and urban in Iran.

It isn't the president who truly controls Iran, however. Unless a leader rises up who is willing to move Iran’s supreme leader on major issues, things won't really change that much in Persia. Ultimately, the power in Iran rests in the hands of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Guardian Council (with its 12 members ultimately picked by the Supreme Leader).

Arash Fathi, an Iranian student in America, supports Mousavi - with reservations about how effective he could really be in implementing real change. "[H]e's making promises he cannot keep," Fathi said of Mousavi. "He says he will abolish police interference in people's lives - but the fashion police are controlled by the supreme leader, so he simply can't do that."

If any president can stand up to the Islamic leadership, though, it might be Mousavi. He butted heads with the Supreme Leader Khamenei when Khamenei was president and Mousavi was prime minister. Of course, Mousavi would not be in the current race if he had not gotten the permission of Khamenei, since everything ultimately passes by the supreme leader. Yet, Mousavi has tussled with Khamenei in the past and may be willing to press him in the future.

Ahmadinejad:
While Mousavi has a visible chance, Ahmadinejad still has plenty of support in Iran, especially among the hardline religious Muslims and the less wealthy.

"If Ahmadinejad gets to be president again, the problems of the poor people will be solved," says Mohamad Reza Bahdani in the eastern city of Birjand. Bahdani believes Ahmadinejad has been assisted by the Mahdi, the Shiite Messiah, whom many Muslims expect will soon come to take over the world.

"Previous governments were turning away from Islam and becoming irreligious, but Ahmadinejad – with the help of Imam Mahdi – has got more people around religion again," says Bahdani.

At the same time, plenty of Iranians are concerned that Ahmadinejad is going to destroy the country between his foreign policy speeches and his economic policies. Making a complete enemy of the United States is not going to help Iran, something a large number of moderate Iranians recognize. President Ahmadinejad may be a pious Muslim, and he may support the poor, but practical Muslims in Iran still care about their pocketbooks and avoiding political isolation.

There is no real way to predict who will win on Friday. This is an important election for Iran as it currently faces antipathy from the world, and yet a readily friendly hand from the US if it shows itself friendly.

"The winner of Friday's vote will shape Iran's view of itself and the world – and the world's view of the Islamic Republic," writes Scott Peterson of The Christian Science Monitor. "He will set the tone on a range of geostrategic issues, from how to engage President Obama – and possibly ease 30 years of anti-American hostility – to whether to scale back nuclear defiance and anti-Israeli diatribes."

At least 429 journalists from 44 countries have expressed interest in covering the Iranian election on Friday. The whole world is waiting to see what happens.

Related Links:

 • Who is Challenging Ahmadinejad's Power? - NBC
 • In Iran Election, Tradition Competes With Web - The Washington Post
 • Iran Elections: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Faces Run-Off In Poll - Telegraph.co.uk
 • Iran Election: Diaspora Views - BBC
 • Ahmadinejad And Mousavi Rallies Bring Tehran To Halt - Guardian.co.uk
 • 429 Foreign Journalists Wish To Cover Iran Presidential Elections - Zawya.com
 • Iran's Presidential RaceTightens - The Christian Science Monitor
 • Conflict Within Islam: Sunnis and Shiites - Koinonia House

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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: ALIVE AND WELL IN AMERICA - (Print)

America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, is all about religious freedom. Yet, in the name of separation of church and state, religious groups have often had to battle for equal access to public facilities or the freedom to teach the Bible. Even then, simple letters can usually clear up situations in which Christians face discrimination.

Santa Rosa County, Florida:
The ACLU filed a lawsuit against Florida's Santa Rosa County School District last year and, in response, the school district agreed to a consent order that ended with the banning of religious activities at county schools. As a result, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes was prevented from renting school facilities at Jay High School and teachers were forbidden to attend baccalaureate services.

When contacted about the issue, the Alliance Defense Fund wrote a letter to inform the school district that these prohibitions were unconstitutional. The school district then reversed its policies and allowed the Christian athlete group to meet on school property and renewed teachers' freedom to attend private baccalaureate services on their own time.

San Diego County, California:
A pastor and his wife were cited and their home Bible study in Bonita, CA was shut down, making national news. On April 11, David and Mary Jones were told they had to get a permit in order to hold the home studies, in which between five and 27 people gathered each week.

"She asked me if we sang songs, said Amen, praised the Lord or not. I don't even think I answered because I was so taken aback" said Mary Jones, whose home had been used for the Bible study for five years.

When the event made the news, the county at first explained that the whole thing was about parking. One of the neighbors had apparently complained about inconveniently parked cars. Last week San Diego County finally made an official apology to the couple. The county's chief administrative officer Walter Ekard wrote a letter on Wednesday, June 3 to say that the citation should never have been written and the Jones family was not required to get a permit.

Tulsa, Oklahoma:
For two decades, Child Evangelism Fellowship has put on a Bible-based summer vacation program for kids in Tulsa's inner city projects. The fellowship's goal is to help these high-risk kids stay out of drugs and crime through fun activities and messages that also teach them about God. A non-profit group that administers recreational programs for the Tulsa Housing Authority, Youth At Heart, recently told Child Evangelism Fellowship that they could not run programs that spoke about God or Jesus. Youth at Heart informed the Christian group that religious instruction was not permitted on public housing property. They said the policy had been in place for a long time, but just had not been enforced.

Mathew Staver of the Liberty Counsel commented, "There is a mistaken notion if you allow equal access to a religious group, you're violating the Constitution." So far the housing authority has declined to comment, but a 2001 US Supreme Court ruling makes the case clear; religious groups have the same rights to access public facilities or property as any other group.

Larry Koehn, head of Child Evangelism Fellowship in Tulsa, is not very worried. "Last fall, one of our schools said we couldn't hold a club after school for the same reasons," he said. "I contacted the Liberty Counsel and they wrote a letter to the school board explaining equal access, and they let us in."

Religious discrimination continues to take place in America, but Americans have a number of legal groups ready to assist them when problems and confusions sprout up. Those who experience daily religious freedom around the world should praise God for the liberty they enjoy. It is a precious gift that should never be taken lightly.

Related Links:

 • Evangelical Group Banned From Tulsa Housing Projects - Fox News
 • Fla. School District Agrees To End Discriminatory Treatment Of Christian Club - Alliance Defense Fund
 • Bible Group Gets Apology from the County - SanDiego 6
 • Faith in the Classroom - Koinonia House

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CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION; RUSSIA, LAOS, AND INDIA - (Print)

In areas of the world where Christianity is not understood and the importance of religious freedom is not appreciated, persecution and harassment are still major problems. Yet, the power and protection, comfort and wisdom of God are available to believers wherever they live. We can all help our brothers and sisters facing persecution by standing by them in much-needed prayer. Here are just some instances where we can help:

Russia:
Religious freedom in Russia is threatened once again with the resurrection of the Ministry of Justice Council for Conducting State Religious Expert Analysis. Anti-cult activists want to investigate various religious organizations in Russia, including their doctrines and activities, leadership decisions and forms of worship, and report their findings back to the Ministry of Justice. "Cults" do not include only those groups that sacrifice children on hilltops, but groups that would be considered mainstream in America, like Protestants.

Prominent "anti-cult" activist Alexander Dvorkin has described the faith of some Protestants as "a crude, magical-occult system with elements of psychological manipulation." Dvorkin chairs the Council for Conducting State Religious Expert Analysis, and many Christians are worried that Russia will return to the kind of oppression and outright persecution of Christians that was common during the Cold War.

The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed support for the new Council. Non-Orthodox Christians, though, are worried. There has been an outcry from believers, even those not given "cult" status. The Union of Old Believer theologians has called the developments "a direct threat to the constitutional rights of the citizens of Russia to freedom of confession…" The Baptist Union head argued that the Council would reduce religious freedom to the point where, "everything is controlled and subordinate to a single ideology and freedom itself is banned." Even in the government there is not complete support for the Council.

The Russian Bible Society has already been suggested for investigation.

Laos:
In the meanwhile, Christians in the Asian country of Laos are often imprisoned without explanation. Release International recently reported on the situation in Laos where Christians are under constant surveillance.

One man "Pastor Timothy" (not his real name) told Release: "They asked me to sign a piece of paper that said that I would not be a Christian because Christians are not good or not right for the Lao people. I didn't sign it because of my faith."

"Pastor Silas" has been jailed several times for speaking about his faith.

"Abigail’s" husband was murdered for starting churches.

She said: "The reason I believe my husband was killed was because he served God. But I would tell [his killer] I love him, because God loves him too and God will forgive him."

The Laotian constitution provides for religious freedom, but Christians are seen as a threat to national unity in the Stalinist state. The majority of Laotians are Buddhist, and Buddhism is of no worry to the government. The 1.5 percent of the population that is Christian is highly supervised and regulated, though, and Christians need permission to do anything religious, like evangelizing or building churches. Local authorities freely harass Christians and threaten and jail them, and Laotian jails do not greatly concern themselves with human rights (to put it mildly). 

India:
A new Indian Apostolic church was closed by authorities on June 7th in Chennagiri, Davanagere District in Karnataka state, India. The newly built church was dedicated on May 29th, and on Sunday police came and forcefully locked its doors, saying the church had an "illegal license."

The church had received permission from the village administration to build the church. However, a few days later, Hindu radicals burst in and demanded to know what authority they had to build the church. The president of the village administration insisted that no churches were being permitted in the village because Christians engaged in "conversion activities." On May 31st, the church leadership received a letter saying their license had been revoked.

The pastor of the church, Pastor Pius, has asked for prayer for the church to be allowed to reopen; its members – mostly from a tribal background – have no place to worship together.

Continue to pray for the Church around the world. Even in difficult or dark areas of the globe, God has His people, and above all they need the strength and encouragement of the Holy Spirit. They also need the physical and legal assistance that many Christians in the West take for granted. We can stand beside them in their struggles by praying for them, and by writing letters of our own.

Related Links:

 • Police Shut Down Church In Karnataka, India - Persecution.org
 • Release Warns of Appalling Conditions in Laos Jails - Christian Today
 • Russia's Minority Christians Fear Return To Soviet Era Persecution - Christian Today
 • Strategic Trends: Global Religion - Koinonia House

**IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES**

Conservatives Gain In European Parliament Elections - June 09, 2009
Europe was leaning to the right ahead of European Parliament elections Sunday, with voters in many countries favoring conservative parties against a backdrop of economic crisis. High unemployment across Europe has increased voter dissatisfaction with mainstream national parties, and skepticism over the EU's power to help spur recovery. AP

Hezbollah Loses in Lebanon Elections - June 09, 2009
The ruling pro-Western alliance managed to win in Lebanese parliamentary elections this weekend, much to the relief of Washington. "Sanity prevailed," a senior administration official said Sunday night. "Hey, look on the bright side, boys!" Andrew Exum, a Lebanon expert at the Center for a New American Security wrote of Hezbollah. "Now you don't have to govern. It's a lot easier to be in the opposition if you're Hezbollah. You still keep your arms, and there is less pressure from the outside." In other words, despite relieving election results, the US and Israel still need to keep a close watch on Hezbollah. The New ForeignPolicy.com

Supreme Court Won't Hear Challenge To Don't Ask Don't Tell - June 09, 2009
The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a case challenging the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy for gays in the military. Prior to 1993, when "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was implemented, homosexuals were completely banned from the military. Since 1993, gays and lesbians can only be dismissed if they are open about their same-sex attraction. Homosexual activist groups are waiting for President Obama to fulfill campaign promises to promote even more openness for gays in the military, but the White House has put that agenda on the back burner for now. AP

US Journalists In North Korean Prisons - June 09, 2009
While starvation, vicious beatings, torture, and public executions are the normal fare in North Korean work camps, the American journalists who were recently given 12-year sentences will most likely not be treated as badly as normal prisoners. North Korea cannot afford to let American journalists describe the true conditions of its prison camps, and with world eyes on the situation, the two journalists cannot just be buried. Still, even with better treatment, Laura Ling and Euna are in for no picnic. Time

Five Questions for Sotomayor - June 09, 2009
Unless we want confirmation processes to continue focusing on pot smoking, illegal-immigrant nannies, and the like, senators from both parties should ask probing questions that can cut through the "that case may come before me" clutter and actually shed light on Judge Sotomayor's judicial philosophy. Here are five. Cato Institute

New Hampshire Passes Gay Marriage Bill - June 06, 2009
New Hampshire's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176 vote, hours after the state Senate approved the legislation 14-10 along party lines, making the state the fourth this year to back gay marriage in the United States. Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, signed the bill, which goes into effect on January 1. Reuters

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