Khloé Kardashian Says Lamar Odom’s ‘Demons’ Overshadow His Great ‘Soul’

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Khloé Kardashian Says Lamar Odom’s ‘Demons’ Overshadow His Great ‘Soul’

Christian Post Report – Khloe Kardashian arrives at the 42nd American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, November 23, 2014.

Despite enduring her estranged husband’s repeated affairs and drug abuse, reality TV star Khloé Kardashian says former NBA player Lamar Odom has a great soul.

“His demons are overshadowing what a great heart he has, and I know his soul is still great and he’s a beautiful person,” she said in an interview with Andy Cohen on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” late night show.

Odom, 36, was found unconscious in a Las Vegas brothel due to a drug overdose, E! News reported back in October 2015.

For months, Odom could not walk or talk before what Kardashian, 31, called a miraculous recovery.

“He’s walking and talking … it’s literally a miracle,” she told Cohen. “This person was in a coma, I was told he had four hours to live. … He could not speak or walk up until three weeks ago.”

Although the “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” star admitted she didn’t know the extent of what would take place, she understood that her estranged husband’s issues with addiction would have dangerous results.

“I didn’t know that particular situation was going to happen but I always feared that the end result was going to happen, that was obviously a reason I left the marriage,” she said on the show. “I never imagined it would be at a brothel or that whole dramatic situation.”

Still, Kardashian is praying for the former NBA player.

“He’s fighting for his life and I really pray that this is a wakeup call for him,” she said. “Everyone loves a good comeback story.”

After publicly overcoming her marital struggles, Kardashian revealed that prayer and a close relationship with God has helped her.

“I just always try to look at the glass half full. We’re all human beings, and we all have the same problems. I do remember how blessed I am, and no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse,” the Strong Looks Better Naked author said on her personal website, according to Us Weekly. “Counting my blessings, I pray a lot. I have a really close relationship with God.”

“I have more conversations with God, and it’s very therapeutic to me. It helps me through a lot of trials and tribulations,” Kardashian added. “I also still make a point to thank God for the trials. As long as you never question or doubt why you’re going through something, you’ll always get through it and rise above.”

Source : Christian Post

Pope Francis to Be First-Ever Catholic Leader to Visit Rome’s Great Mosque, Islamic Leaders Say

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Pope Francis to Be First-Ever Catholic Leader to Visit Rome’s Great Mosque, Islamic Leaders Say

Christian Post Report – Pope Francis (C) waves to faithful as he leaves after a meeting with the Kenyan youth at the Kasarani stadium in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, November 27, 2015.

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Great Mosque in Rome at the end of the month, Muslim leaders confirmed this week.

Leaders from one of the largest mosques in the western world told local news outlets that they requested a special visit from the pontiff several months ago.

Although the Vatican has yet to confirm its visit, Omar Camilletti, a member of the mosque’s governing council, told CBS News that the meeting is “certain” to take place, but hasn’t been confirmed due to security reasons.

CBS News reports that Imam Izzedin Elzir, president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, has confirmed that the meeting will take place on Jan. 27.

Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio that a delegation of Islamic leaders visited the pope this week to extend an invitation to the Great Mosque.

The delegation included members of the Islamic Community of Italy and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy.

Lombardi said the pontiff will “study the invitation and come to a decision,” adding that the Catholic leader “would be cautious about a date.”

Th Vatican spokesperson added that any dates that have been revealed to media outlets are “without foundation.”

According to Rome Reports, the Islamic delegation, which was filmed visiting the pope earlier this week, told the Catholic leader that it is their “honor to meet you and recognize your moral and spiritual leadership. We are honored to invite you to the Islamic Cultural Center.”

The pope replied by telling the delegation that it would be “a great pleasure to visit you also, because it would be a great sign of our brotherhood.”

The pope’s invitation to visit the Great Mosque comes days after he visited Rome’s Great Synagogue on Sunday.

Francis embraced Jewish leaders at the synagogue and delivered a speech denouncing anti-Semitic violence and promising “maximum vigilance” against religious-inspired attacks.

The pope also described the Jewish religion as the “elder brothers” of the Christian religion.

Francis has previously visited four mosques, including a November 2014 visit to the 17th century Sultan Ahmet mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, where the pontiff focused his speech on the importance of religious freedom and acceptance.

The pontiff has also visited mosques in the Central African Republic and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, considered to be a highly important religious site for the Muslim religion.

If the pope does accept the invite to visit Rome’s Great Mosque, he will be the first pope to do so.

The pontiff has repeatedly spoken on the importance of unity between Christians and Muslims, emphasizing this theme during a speech in the Central African Republic in November 2015.

“Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters,” he told the audience.

“Those who claim to believe in God must also be men and women of peace,” the pope added, subtly criticizing religions that use violence to communicate their beliefs.

Source : Christian Post

Murder of Devout Christian Father in Pakistan Investigated as ‘Small-Scale Terror Attack’

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Murder of Devout Christian Father in Pakistan Investigated as ‘Small-Scale Terror Attack’
Christian Post Report – Members of the Pakistani Christian community hold crosses in front of a fire during a protest rally to condemn Sunday’s suicide attack in Peshawar on a church, with others in Lahore September 23, 2013. A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the 130-year-old Anglican church in Pakistan after Sunday mass, killing at least 78 people in the deadliest attack on Christians in the predominantly Muslim country.

Pakistani Christians in the town of Sialkot Tehsil in Punjab province took to the streets over the weekend to protest the killing of a devout Christian father of five who was shot to death last week while at work.

Nazir Masih, who worked as a janitor at the municipal government council building in Sialkot Tehsil, was busy cleaning the street outside of the office around 7 a.m. last Thursday when unknown gunmen shot him dead.

Nazir Masih(Photo: British Pakistani Christian Association)Nazir Masih

The British Pakistani Christian Association, a U.K.-based watchdog group for Pakistani Christian persecution, reports that the culprits who struck Masih with four bullets were able to escape unidentified and remain at-large.

“I received a call from Mohammad Shafiq, a sanitary supervisor at my brother’s place of work. He advised me that my brother had been shot dead. I just cried and cried. I had to tell his wife and children and the rest of my family. It tore my heart to shreds, I loved my brother Nazir so much,” BPCA quoted Masih’s brother as saying. “After letting the family know, I rushed to the place where my brother had been shot and found his dead body surrounded by many people in the street. There was blood all around him. He was such a humble gentleman and had no enemies. I cannot understand why anyone would want to shoot him.”

According to BPCA, many Christians in the area gathered outside the town center on Saturday to protest and call on the local police to undergo a thorough investigation and uphold justice by prosecuting Masih’s killers.

BPCA President Wilson Chowdhry told The Christian Post on Wednesday that as many 100 residents gathered in the town center and called on the local government council to compensate Masih’s family since he was on duty at the time he was killed and the family’s main source of income.

Despite public pleas for the local government to compensate the family, the council declined to provide financial assistance, according to BPCA.

Following the protest, local police officials said they have now launched an investigation and believe Masih’s death could have been the result of a “small-scale terrorist attack.”

“We are saddened by this murder case and have registered a First Investigation Report,” investigating officer Mohammed Masood told BPCA officer Shamim Masih. “An investigation is under process and will be extremely vigorous. So far the motive of the killer is unknown, this may even have been a small scale terrorist attack. The police authority is committed to find the killer and we hope to have success as it happened in broad daylight.”

Another police officer, Rai Ijaz, told Masih that it is possible the victim was killed because he witnessed a crime that someone did not want him to see.

“We can only guess the motive of the killers and our hunch is that Nazir may have witnessed a crime or seen some sought after criminals,” Ijaz explained. “He simply was at the wrong place at the wrong time and was killed so he could not provide evidence.”

BPCA reports that since Masih has been killed, his family is now unable to pay their rent and school fees for the four youngest children, the youngest of which is 11 years old. To help relieve the family’s burden, the organization has launched a donation campaign that will support the Masih family.

“This crime is not one of our usual persecution stories. Nevertheless, through no fault of their own, a Christian family now finds themselves in serious financial problems due to the loss of a main breadwinner,” Chowdhry said in a statement. “This family have little hope of justice and stand no chance of any compensation. We believe it is our Christian duty to help these victims and we will do whatever we can to help them adjust to their new deplorable situation.”

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Justin Bieber Sings About Faith and Prayer in Unreleased Preview

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Justin Bieber Sings About Faith and Prayer in Unreleased Preview
Christian Post Report – Singer Justin Bieber arrives at the 2015 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 22, 2015.

Justin Bieber has released his fair share of songs about love and heartbreak, and now the Canadian crooner is giving fans a preview of something that explores elements of his faith.

The 21-year-old “Purpose” singer took to Instagram to preview 45 seconds of an unreleased track in a series of posts. In his first post, the singer reflects about not giving up on things because life is too short.

“Open your mind / Wider than the ocean / Life is but a moment / And every single time you want to give up / Hold on tight to what you love and don’t let go,” Bieber sings in the first clip.

In another preview post, Bieber’s voice can be heard singing about prayer.

“And every single time you want to pray / Pray for your trouble / Take a breath / Every step / Let it wash away / Oh wash away,” he sings.

The last clip seems to be reflective of Bieber’s life struggles, his faith and lessons he has learned.

“21-years-ago / It’s never ever been the same / I know in life I never wanted to play the game,” he continues. “I’m not the same as Michael even though he hall of fame / I’m all hall of faith / put me on the wall of change. Got a couple of things I learned along the way / figured out how to mean what I say / I just got to be me.”

According to Inquistr, sources close to the singer say that the song is not an official release, but an unfinished track from one year ago. Although Bieber’s Purpose album has more to do with love, he has been vocal in interviews about his faith.

In the January 2016 issue of GQ magazine, Pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong NYC reveals how Bieber sobbed and told him, “I want to know Jesus … baptize me.”

“I just wanna honestly live like Jesus. Not be Jesus. … I don’t want that to come across weird. He created a pretty awesome template of how to love people and how to be gracious and kind,” Bieber said in a Complex magazine interview last year. “If you believe it, He died for our sins. Sometimes when I don’t feel like doing something, but I know it’s right, I remember, I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t feel like going to the cross and dying so that we don’t have to feel what we should have to feel.”

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Destroys Oldest Christian Monastery in Iraq That United Christians Before Catholic-Orthodox Split

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ISIS Destroys Oldest Christian Monastery in Iraq That United Christians Before Catholic-Orthodox Split

Christian Post Report – Iraqi Christians volunteers, who have joined Hashid Shaabi, allied with Iraqi forces against the Islamic State, rest during training in a military camp in Baghdad, July 1, 2015. Iraqi Christians volunteers, who have joined Hashid Shaabi, allied with Iraqi forces against the Islamic State, rest during training in a military camp in Baghdad, July 1, 2015.

The Islamic State terror group has destroyed the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, satellite photos have confirmed, reducing to rubble the 1,400 year-old St. Elijah’s Monastery that stood as a place of worship before the Catholic-Orthodox split.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that it obtained satellite photos from imagery firm DigitalGlobe, which revealed that the site where St. Elijah’s Monastery once stood has been reduced to a field of rubble.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi pointed out that the monastery was a special place for many, because it dated back to a time before the split between the Catholic and the Orthodox traditions.

“Unfortunately, there is this systemic destruction of precious sites, not only cultural, but also religious and spiritual. It’s very sad and dramatic,” Lombardi said.

AP noted that the monastery has been used as a place of worship for millennia, with generations of monks praying at its chapel.

IS has been carrying out a pointed campaign aimed at destroying Christian churches and all other buildings it deems heretical.

The Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Ephraim in Mosul, which the militants destroyed, later reopened as a “mosque of the mujahideen” or jihad fighters.

The 27,000-square-foot stone and mortar St. Elijah’s Monastery reportedly had 26 distinctive rooms, including a sanctuary and chapel, and stood at a hill above Mosul, resembling a fortress.

Stephen Wood, CEO of Allsource Analysis, said that the destruction must have occurred somewhere between August and September 2014.

“Bulldozers, heavy equipment, sledgehammers, possibly explosives turned those stone walls into this field of gray-white dust. They destroyed it completely,” Wood said.

Father Paul Thabit Habib, a Catholic priest from Mosul who now lives in Irbil, warned that Christian history is “being barbarically levelled” at the hands of IS.

“We see it as an attempt to expel us from Iraq, eliminating and finishing our existence in this land,” Habib said.

BBC News Iraq correspondent Ahmed Maher pointed out that without the satellite images, the fate of the monastery might have never been known.

“This is because journalists and archaeologists cannot go to IS-controlled areas for security reasons. But more importantly, IS did not release any video on its propaganda outlets showing the demolition of this particular ancient site,” he wrote.

“The jihadists have released footage showing themselves destroying shrines, churches and antiquities with sledgehammers and dynamite. More than 100 churches and monasteries have been razed to the ground in Mosul and the predominantly Christian villages surrounding it, like Bashiqa and Qaraqosh, since they took control of the area in 2014.”

The monastery was originally built in 590, and has suffered several tragedies throughout the years. In 1743, close to 150 monks were massacred by a Persian general after they refused to convert to Islam, while in 2003, one of its walls was smashed in by a tank turret during the war with the U.S.

Source : Christian Post

Pastor Steven Furtick Says God Told Him to Preach Against Prejudice

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Pastor Steven Furtick Says God Told Him to Preach Against Prejudice
Christian Post Report – Lead Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, Steven Furtick called prejudice a poisonous snake and challenged his congregation to keep the scourge in check by not passing it down to children.

“I wanna give you a little challenge today from my personal experience called ‘It’s in your hands,'” Furtick said in a video clip posted on his Facebook page on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.

“God told me to just bring you a simple message today and ask you ‘what are you passing on?’ I believe that the essence of the Gospel is acceptance,” he said before reading Scripture from Matthew 7:9-12.

“Jesus said ‘which of you if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’

“Then here’s a verse that a lot of people know, it’s easier to quote than it is to live, (Matthew 7:12). So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets,'” he said, ending the reading.

He then began his exhortation on prejudice.

“As fathers, we give gifts to our children and one of the greatest gifts, blessings or curses and burdens that we give to our children is our perspective. Yet, as fathers, when we pass on prejudice to our children we’re handing them snakes all the time. We’re handing them stones all the time that they might grow up and throw at somebody who’s different than them because of the ignorance that we perpetuate through our perspective and our prejudice that wasn’t checked in our hearts, and it’s gotta stop somewhere!” he declared to cheers from his congregation.

“You know what? What does not heal gets handed down. ‘Cause I have no use for your religion and neither does God and neither does the world, if you can claim to love God that you can’t even see, and hate your brother or sister who you see every day. To me that’s a useless stone and a dangerous snake, and a poisonous venom and a toxic religion that you could love God and hate them,” he continued.

“He didn’t say ‘don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you. He said until you are proactive about doing for others what you wish someone would do for you. Until you do it. You don’t have it. Not real love.

“And I came today not to offer any grand solution or to be some kind of racial unifier in my own right, but just to ask a question that I think is my part to ask you: ‘What’s in your heart?’ Because whatever change we need to see beyond this room starts in our hearts,” he said.

Posted by Steven Furtick on Monday, January 18, 2016

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Publishes Obituary for ‘Honorable Brother,’ ‘Jihadi John’

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ISIS Publishes Obituary for ‘Honorable Brother,’ ‘Jihadi John’
Christian Post Report – Dabiq’s obituary for Mohammed Emwazi, who is also known as “Jihadi John” that was published on Jan. 19, 2016

The Islamic State terrorist group has finally confirmed the death of its most famous executioner, “Jihadi John,” as the organization included an obituary for him in the latest edition of its English-language propaganda magazine after he was believed to have been killed two months ago.

After United States officials strongly believed that an airstrike in November had slain Mohammed Emwazi, the black-masked British militant who became notorious in 2014 for beheading American and British citizens in publicized propaganda videos that stunned the world, IS finally announced Tuesday the death of the one the world called “Jihadi John.”

Jihadi John(Photo: Reuters/SITE Intel Group/Handout)A masked, black-clad militant, who has been identified by The Washington Post newspaper as a Briton named Mohammed Emwazi, brandishes a knife in this still image from a 2014 video obtained from SITE Intel Group, February 26, 2015.

In its most recent issue of the online magazine Dabiq, the militant organization published an obituary for Emwazi, who was referred to as Abū Muhārib Al-Muhājir, that explained that he died on Nov. 12, 2015, after “the car he was in was targeted in a strike by an unmanned drone in the city of Raqqa.” It added that Emwazi’s car was destroyed and he was killed “instantly.”

The obituary offered kind words about Emwazi, stating that he was an ambitious and enthusiastic jihadi who “grew to be loved and respected by many.”

The obituary also detailed how Emwazi, who was born in Kuwait and moved to the U.K. when he was 6, grew to despise England.

“Abū Muhārib Al-Muhājir, the mujāhid who made headlines around the world as ‘Jihadi John,’ was originally from the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula, while his mother originated from Yemen,” the obituary reads. “At a young age, the honorable brother traveled with his family to London. This would become a place he grew to hate along withs kāfir people, whose customs were far-removed from the praiseworthy values he was much accustomed to.”

“It was through the mercy and blessings of Allah that Abū Muhārib attained the gift of a sound ‘aqīdah and correct manhaj despite residing in one of the centers of kufr and despite the increased presence of deviants calling to the gates of Jahannam,” the obituary added.

According to the magazine, Emwazi, who previously attended the University of Westminster, was questioned by investigators and authorities when he tried to leave the U.K. for Kuwait. The obituary brags about how Emwazi was able to escape the U.K. to join IS in Syria “right under the nose of the much overrated MI5 British intelligence agency” even though he was refused permission to travel in 2013.

“Depending upon Allah alone for success, with his companion embarked on a long and strenuous journey that totalled approximately two months and involved trekking the mountain ranges of Europe and its marshy farmlands, sneaking across borders and being detained by the authorities of various nations on at least two occasions,” the obituary explained, according to the Daily Mail. “It’s Emwazi’s sincerity, ambition and enthusiasm to work and tire himself for Allah’s sake that granted him prominence, as he grew to be loved and respected by many.”

Emwazi’s prominence came when IS released a number of execution videos online that showed a masked Emwazi beheading five western journalists and aid workers with a blunt knife, including Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Peter Kassig and British citizens Alan Henning and David Haines.

Despite Emwazi’s brutal mistreatment of IS prisoners, the article also praised Emwazi for his “kindness and generosity” because he gave away one of his sex slaves to an unmarried injured jihadi.

Former IS captives say that Emwazi was included in a group of four British jihadis who were known as “the Beatles.” One former IS hostage named Daniel Rye Ottosen from Denmark explained in October that “the Beatles” were the most brutal of all the IS captors.

Ottosen explained that “Jihadi John” even made him dance the tango with him and also threatened to cut off his nose with side-cutting pliers.

Last August, Emwazi appeared in a video where he promised to return to the U.K. and behead non-believers.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Univ. of Virginia Kicks Off 40 Days of Prayer, Fasting Ahead of 200th Nat’l Collegiate Day of Prayer

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Univ. of Virginia Kicks Off 40 Days of Prayer, Fasting Ahead of 200th Nat’l Collegiate Day of Prayer

Christian Post Report – Messengers at the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting worship together in between small group and corporate prayer time during the June 16 evening session dedicated to prayer at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Students at the University of Virginia kicked off their 40 days of prayer and fasting on Sunday, leading up to the national Collegiate Day of Prayer next month.

At the university, located in Charlottesville, the community’s Operation Esther Circle prayer group will partner with university students and the college’s Student Prayer Collective to hold weekly prayer meetings in the 40 days leading up to the event on Feb. 25.

Debra Yarde, Operation Esther Prayer Circle leader, told NBC 29 News that the 40 days of prayer and fasting serve as good preparation to the Collegiate Day of Prayer.

“In colleges around the United States our future leaders are there, our future politicians are there. So, we want to make sure prayer is in the forefront of their life,” Yarde told the local media station.

The Luke 18 Project, a campus prayer movement organizing the 40 day prayer and fasting event, states on its website that the idea to hold the 40 day event comes from the biblical story of Jesus going into the wilderness for 40 days to fast and pray.

“As Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days to fast and pray before He ‘returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,’ what could happen if the college students of America gave themselves to 40 days to fast and pray for another Jesus movement in our nation?” the Luke 18 Project questions on its official website.

2016 marks the 200th year that colleges across the nation have participated in the national Collegiate Day of Prayer, where students are encouraged to unite and pray for the fate of their nation.

As of Monday, 105 colleges in the U.S. are set to participate in the Collegiate Day of Prayer.

The purpose of the Collegiate Day of Prayer is explained on its official website, which calls on the importance of instilling prayer and faith in younger generations of Americans for the sake of the country.

“As the students go, so goes our nation! If we win the spiritual battles across our nation but neglect our college campuses, all our progress will be undone in a generation,” the Collegiate Day of Prayer states.

“Therefore, students today need our support and earnest prayers. However, college students don’t just need more prayer, they need our UNITED prayer. Without a greater degree of genuine, unified prayer, our hopes and dreams for this generation may never be realized.

“According to Matthew 18:18-20, the greater the number united in faith and prayer, the easier the battle for this generation can be won. Just as a team of horses can move a heavy load faster and easier together, so our greatest barriers can be better overcome through united prayer,” the Collegiate Day of Prayer organizers add.

Source : Christian Post

Fighting Back for Religious Freedom!

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Fighting Back for Religious Freedom!
Christian Post Report – Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, spoke at the Free to Believe broadcast event on Saturday, on National Religious Freedom Day, urging the Church in America to do three things in the face of the threat to religious freedom: seek the Lord, reach the lost and engage the culture.

“The secularization of America has done so much to disrupt American Christianity,” Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in Arkansas, said at the event in Washington, D.C., on practical ways to advance faith, family and freedom in local communities. “Initially, it tried to make us become extinct … unsuccessfully. And then it attempted to neutralize us … and to some degree, a little successful. And now, the attention has turned toward silencing the church.”

Floyd added, “That’s one thing we cannot let happen.”

 

Source : Christian Post

Saeed Abedini Is Free at Last

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Saeed Abedini Is Free at Last
Christian Post Report – The American Center for Law and Justice, the law group that raised awareness and started petitions signed by millions calling for the freedom of Pastor Saeed Abedini, says it’s grateful that he’s finally been released, and urged the focus to move on to the many other persecuted Christians around the world.

“From our involvement in Pastor Saeed’s case more than three years ago, our goal was two-fold: keep Pastor Saeed alive in one of the world’s most dangerous prisons — and work to secure his release. To accomplish that, we implemented a three-point strategy,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said in a statement to The Christian Post on Monday.

Source : Christian Post

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