Churches Destroyed by Mali Terrorists

Word comes to us at The Global Lane that churches in Timbuktu, Mali were destroyed this week by the Islamist terrorist group Ansar Dine. Members of A.D. are reportedly searching for the pastor of one church hoping that he will deny the cross and join them in their armed struggle against Mali government forces and French troops.

This was told to us via phone today by Zakariya Abdou, Regional Director for the Stromme Foundation, a Norwegian humanitarian organization working in Mali.

Abdou says sharia law has been imposed on people in areas under Ansar Dine control. He explains what that has meant for the population and Christians.

He asks that we pray for Mali's tiny Christian community--that God will protect them from the Islamic terrorists. He also desires prayers for the Muslim majority--that they may come to realize that Islamic fundamentalism is not the correct path for the former democratic nation.

Listen to my interview with Abdou. He begins by telling me that Ansar Dine wants to impose its brand of sharia law on all of Mali and beyond its borders to the rest of West Africa.