Church Leader Attacked

A Christian leader from a small church in Adana, Turkey was attacked by five Muslims who pretended to want to know more about Christ, according to a January 20 report from Compass Direct.  Kamil Kiroglu, 29, was leaving the church facility after worship services on January 8 when four young Turkish men and an older man claiming to be from Turkmenistan, approached him.  The five had been at the service and said they wanted to know more about Christ.  Kiroglu became suspicious when he suddenly found himself alone with the five men. He called for a friend waiting outside the building.  As the men reluctantly began to leave, the leader of the five suddenly turned to Kiroglu and said, "There is a package for you from Al-Qaeda. It is a surprise. You will soon know what it is."  Frightened, Kiroglu tried to call the police on his cell phone.  The men then turned on him and began to beat him saying, "We don’t want Christians in this country!" One shoved a butcher's knife into Kamil's stomach and threatened to kill him if he didn't deny Christ.  Rather than killing him, however, the attackers knocked him unconscious and fled.  Following the attack, anti-terrorism police searched the building, afraid that there might be a bomb inside. They recovered a package containing a three-foot knife hidden under a bench.

Pray for Kamil's healing. Pray for the salvation of those who attacked him.

For more information on Turkey and the persecution facing Christians there, click here.