Bridge of Grace

On Saturday May 25th, 72-year-old Pakistani Christian Nazir Masih was falsely accused of desecrating a Qur'an.  Upon hearing this accusation members of the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik rallied a mob that proceeded to try and lynch Nazir.  Videos soon surfaced on Social Media of Nazir being severely beaten while the mob the proceeds to burn down his home and store.  The mob not only attacked Nazir, but his family as well.  They attempted to beat his son, Sultan Gill, & proceeded to burn down his shoe store.   The family, which consisted of 15 members, narrowly escaped the mob and has been forced to go into hiding.  Many more Christians also fled, fearing that the mobs would begin targeting them as well.   Several police officers were seen among the mob and failed to take any action to help Nazir for quite some time.  Eventually, enough police officers arrived on the scene and managed to disperse the mob.  Seven people total were inj...

The Islamization/Arabization of Egypt began with the conquest of the region by the Islamic Caliphate in the 7th century.  Prior to the Islamic Conquest, Copt simply referred to one as "Egyptian."  Now is stands for any Egyptian who has not accepted the Islamic faith.  Over the centuries various Islamic powers ruled the region: the Arabs, then the Circassians, followed by the Ottomans.  Throughout those centuries churches were destroyed, books burned, Christian leaders imprisoned, and the Christian populace reduced to a permanent undercast, resulting in the Coptic Christians being reduced to a mere 10% of the population.   Tragically, this ongoing persecution has not stopped.  If anything, it has increased.  As it stands, their currently churches are continually subjected to mob attacks & Jihadist bombings while it is next to impossible for the community to gain permission from the Egyptian government to build new churches.  Coptic Christi...

The former Byzantine Church of St. Savior in Chora, located in Istanbul, was converted into a Mosque by decree of Turkish President Erdogan on Aug. 21, 2020.  The church was originally built in the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Justinian.  The present structure dates from the late 11th century and has since undergone numerous transformations & renovations.  The church houses magnificent examples of Byzantine & Christian art with world-renowned mosaics & frescoes created between 1315 & 1321.  In 1511, the Ottoman Turks converted the church into a Mosque and it remained as such until 1948 when it was turned into a museum, where it remained as such for 72 years. For the next four years the site underwent extensive restoration.  The mosaics & paintings have been covered with curtains in the areas designated for Islamic worship.  From this point forward, those who come for prayer and those who come for visits are segregated, and its...

Wasim Muhammad, who at the age of 56 is currently the President of the School Board in Camden, NJ, has been accused of committing sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl the 1990's.  The accused attended Cooper B. Hatch Middle School where Wasim worked as a social studies teacher.  She accused Wasim of kissing her, touching her inappropriately, and eventually taking her to local motels for sex.  Wasim's accuser stated that Wasim told her that she was his girlfriend, but that she couldn't tell anybody about their relationship.  Presently Wasim has maintained his innocence but has taken a leave of absence from his position at the school board until the case is resolved.  However, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is urging Wasim to resign in the face of these accusations.   As Wasim's case is coming to light, more information is now being shed on his life.  Wasim also serves as a minister in the Nation of Islam at Muhammad University of Islam School in C...

On Tuesday, April 23rd at 11pm, Islamic extremists attacked and burned down several Coptic Christian shops & homes in the village of Al-Fawakher located in the Minya Governate of Egypt.  During the attack, the Islamist arsonists tried to prevent the Christian residents from escaping their burning homes, but the authorities arrived in time to drive the attackers away and ensure that there were no fatalities in the attack.   Presently the village is home to over 3000 Coptic Christians.  The residents recently received a permit from the Egyptian authorities to build a church.  Coptic Christians who were associated with the project soon began receiving threats from local Islamic extremists in the area.  Though Minya Archbishop Abna Makarios alerted the authorities of the threats, they failed to take any action until the arson attack.  Sadly, this kind of danger is normal for the Coptic Christians of Egypt.  The last view years witnessed Jihadists ...

On Oct. 7th 2023 Hamas launched a murderous rampage on the Israelis near Gaza and they spared nobody in their rampage.  They killed men, women, & children without distinction, and in some cases, they slaughtered entire families.  Such was the case for the Siman Tov family.  Yonatan Kedem Siman Tov, his wife Tamar, their twin 6-year-old daughters Shahar & Arbel as well as their 4-year-old son Omer were all killed by Hamas terrorists, along with Yonatan's 70-year-old mother Carol.   Yonatan and his family resided in the Nir Oz kibbutz in Southern Israel, a residential community of approximately 400 people where Yonatan worked as an operations manager and wheat grower for the small community.  Unfortunately, Nir Oz is situated only 3 km from the Gaza border, which was well within range of the Hamas attack.  Despite their close proximity to Gaza, nobody thought that an attack like what happened on Oct. 7th would ever take place.  Tragically, t...