Release International

A man was seriously injured when Islamist extremists bombed his shop in North-West Frontier Province – because he stocked the Jesus film.

Just half-an-hour before the attack, Muhammad Taos Khan received a warning letter, hand-delivered by a child to his shop in the Saleem Commercial Square in the Kas town area of Upper Dir district. 'It is evident from the letter that I was attacked for keeping the Jesus film in the Pashto and Urdu languages, as well as Islamic and Christian films about Abraham, Isaac and Adam and Eve,' Muhammad told BosNewsLife news agency.

The letter urged Muhammad and other local business people to teach the Koran instead of 'attacking Islamic values'. Thirteen other shops were damaged in the blast. The Jesus film, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, is an evangelistic film about the life of Jesus, credited with leading millions of people worldwide to Christ.

North-West Frontier Province has been a battleground between government troops and militants determined to impose strict Islamic law across the region. In the Swat Valley, to the east of Dir, the Government had signed a controversial peace deal with the Taliban in February, ceding territory to the militants in return for a ceasefire (Prayer Alert, April 7, 2009). But, after a three-month military offensive, the Government has retaken control of Swat. The attack on Muhammad's shop in Upper Dir district proves that the militants have not yet been expelled from the province completely.

(Sources: BBC, BosNewsLife, Campus Crusade for Christ)

• Ask God to heal Muhammad and restore his livelihood.
• Pray that Swat's Christian community will now be able to worship in peace.

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