>> today on christian world news, speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves, urging the u.s. government to spotlight [inaudible] prosecution. he's being remembering for -- look at the life and spiritual legacy of the reverend will con son. >> and welcome to christian world news, george thomas and

wednesday griffith are on vacation, obama -- that's because global persecution is on the rise. paul strain reports from washington. >> it's not getting better out there in many nations for those who wish to worship freely. >> it's become worse over the past several years. >> that's the word from the u.s. government group that -- their new annual report highlights countries like vietnam who face imprisonment and -- >> they took me to the station and tortured me, they used something to -- and one of my toes. the government says there's freedom of religion but there's lots of persecution among christians and others. >> the commissions of the --

shabaz bott, there was a bla*t mammy law. >> i believe in jesus christ who has given his life for us, i know the following of the cross, and i'm ready to die for a cause, i'm living for my community and suffering people, and i will die to defend their rights. >> the commissioners are asking the u.s. government to blacklist egypt to respond to what they call a sharp deterioration of religious freedom >> there's a lot of attacks on the christian minority in particular, there's a lot of christian orthodox minority. >> they may see christianity disappear within their borders because of persecution. >> particularly because of what happened in the middle east, there's some countries who are

facing extinction like in iraq. >> these are marked from the state department for severe violations of religious freedom and the commissioners want to add these six countries as religious persecutors. commissioners say nations will help themselves if they work to end religious persecution. >> there's civil rights and -- and there is security and stability. >> paul strand, cbn news, washington. >> jounbacker joining us now on our washington bureau is nina shai, nina, the obama it means

the worst countries in the world for religious freedom if you are designated. what we see in these countries on the list are egregious ongoing and systematic persecution, that's the stator standard, it requires statutory sanction, it could be a simple day raising -- using a bullying for these particular country, there's some actions that the government can take, but it is required to act. >> you're recommending egypt be added to the list, what's your

concern there? >> we're concerned about the christians, the coptics christians are the largest minority in the middle east and they form about 10% of the population of egypt. they are an ancient faith from 2 thousand years ago and they are being assaulted by extremists, by terrorists, by islam mists within society, churches have been bombed, we saw a church bombed at their christmas celebration a year, a year and a half ago, and there's individual attacks, there are pilgrims on their villages, church burns just a couple of months ago, they oar in a vulnerable position, the government at the same time in addition to failing to protect them also fails to provide justice, so when they are attacked, no one serves time for that, no one is put on trial or if they're put on

trial, it's dismissed eventually, no one is convicted. that gives a green light to extremists that the christians are -- they can be murdered with impunity, they can be murdered and with the purpose of driving them out, with the purpose of religious cleansing and there won't be consequences. >> we see more christians leave iraq, what's going on there? >> it's been suffering since -- christians are not caught in the cross hair, they're targeted for their faith. again, the government has not protected them as they should, furthermore, the government has marginal them, when their villages are -- come up for being online in the lekt r*is or water or sewage or for

schools or road building, christian villages are excluded in the northern part, in the nen van plain area, that's been going on for a number of year, they're getting the picture they're not wanted and half of them have left, we're wondering when the other half will leave, it's an extremely vulnerable minority, it started about 1.5 million in 2003, now we're down to about half a million, 400 thousand, no one really knows, but it's a vastly diminished population there, and church leaders are now speaking out and saying it could be a religious genocide. nina shai, thank you for being with us, we appreciate your insights. thank you, visit our website, cw news .org, christians around the world are mourning the loss of a passionate and prothet i

can voice, time square church has died, the 79 year-old minister was killed and his wife gwen badly gin injured in a bad collision this week. >> david wilkerson inspired christians around the world for passions of being civil. in 1958, he felt god calling him to new york city to minister to gang members and drug addicts, he tells of his encounter with notorious gang leader nikki cruise, in the watch and the switchblade, it later became a movie with pat baon. >> every piece of -- >> it did damage, good in my brain, but in my heart, i begun to question and for two weeks, i could not sleep thinking about love. >> wilkerson went on to fund

teen challenge, a illogically challenged recovery program for drug auditing, he returned to man hat ton to find the time square church. in the after math of 9/11, wilkerson's [inaudible] repet tense. >> you're praying, you know instiktbacker extinctive in your heart that god is trying to speak to this nation and the world through this. forgive our sins against you. have mercy on us. >> wilkerson's heart for revival was a hallmark in one of his most stirring sermon, he preached about anguish to the unsafe >> we had our revival talk but we've been so passive, all true passion is born out of anguish. all true passion for christ comes out of a baptism of anguish. >> he was at war with the

status quo, he could not tolerate relij yeasty so it's a funny thing that god called him to pastor, the things he talked about warning about holiness and anguish, they were a voice that were calling the body of voice. he was talking for the lord. >> wilkerson's death leaves a legacy but his ministry ambition will be dearly missed, to those going through the valley in shadow of death, hear this word, we've been in some dark awful nights, and you will hear the father whisper, i am with you, i cannot tell you why right now but one way it will all make sense, it was all part of my plan, it was no accident, it was no failure on your part, hold fast, let me embrace you in your hour of pain, beloved, god has never failed to act but

in goodness and love, heater sell, cbn news. >> david wilkerson's son had a statement, we rejoiced knowing dad living life to the fullest obeying god with devotion and loving jesus, he was known for his unlimited faith, he believed god could change the lives of gang members, he believed that a dynamic church could be in the heart of -- he believed he could be a man who loved his wife and children well, and he did. he will be missed. coming up on christian world news, economic trouble and aging leadership, life could mean big changes ahead for the communist nation and the future of its people.

>> welcome back, after more than 50 years in power, cuba's

leadership is aging, recently the government will allow some citizens to allow small businesses, churches are helping their members take advantage of the changes. >> a feeble dell castro made an appearance at the nationalist party congress, a congress that in the first part of its history did not include him in the powerful -- it went to raoul, he made a recommendation including himself. >> we have reached a conclusion that is recommendable to limit to a maximum of -- positions. >> that's not the only problem

that keeps them the poorest out of the nations, castro knows the country has to shed its communist baggage, as the new party leader, he made a pledge to the faithful >> to defend, to preserve and to continue to perfect socialism, and never allow the return of the capitalist regime. >> cuba right now is in a state of great confusion between shifting from purely a socialist communist system to a class si market system not quite at the excel ration of china or vietnam and not knowing where they're going, but be very cautious not to let this whole thing get out of hand >> last rule, raoul promised to reduce the government payroll by laying off half a million workers while the massive

government layoffs have not happened, the uncertainty have left many cubans. >> what the more aggressive hurst -- churches have been doing is to partner with organizations outside of cuba that will help them to start small businesses and will become supporters for the social programs that the churches are running. >> with the help of eco cuba, cube ban evan gel callings have started small businesses. >> we selected cubans within churches that are entrepreneurial, we help them write a business plan, guide them in the process of how to start a business, and then bring to them a business in a box. everything they need to start the business is basically purchase outside of cuba and brought to cuba so they can get

things going. >> but these butting entrepreneurs have to unlearn what the communist government has taught them for the past 50 years. >> the socialist model of cuba starting in 1959, and one head, everything coming down, they really don't understand how to meet together, how to create a collaboration with each other, how to make decisions in a meeting format, all those things that we take for granted, they don't understand it >> so, if churches were to help members survive cuba's economic crisis, they have to unction the basis of a free market economy and once christians start their own businesses, other freedoms may follow. >> the freedom to be able to operate not only in the marketplace but in their place of worship freely without any

kind of restriction from any porm of government. >> stan jokesters cbn news. >> coming up, we'll tell you why a church started by one of christ's disciples is now facing new dangers.

>> egypt's copts are some of the oldest community christians in the world, they're thinking of leaving the country, they fear that islamic have hijacked their revolution. >> the egyptian revolution brought home and opportunity to a people long oppressed by an unpopular dictator and his subordinates, the freedom slave desire remained allusive, this is under siege. >> in terms of the actual number of the tax on copts,

they have increased, and that has a lot of copts worried, is this the future. >> many of them are considering leaving the country, it began on new year's day with a horrific suicide bombing at the church in alexandria, services concluded shortly after midnight. >> i suddenly found myself beside the church, i didn't lose consciousness but i felt severe pain in my abdomen, hand and thigh. >> habeeb was taken to a hospital, 30 inches of his intestines, waheeb was nearly one of 300 christians in the attack, 1 in 20 were killed. >> the church in alexandria know the blood of the martyrs are from the church, it may

result as a result of this intimate and they're determined to fight for a new future here in egypt, one where their honor is fought. >> christians say they're not treated as equals, today they are only about 13% of the population, 86% of egyptians are muslim. christians rarely receive government permission to build new churches, naoez members of a church naoez giza told them they got a building permit after a long battle, police seized to their partially built building, hit by a rubber bullet, this taxi driver is unemployed because he lost sight in his left eye. >> they were beating us like we were criminals. >> as if we christians are not

people, as if we are not human, only like animals without any rights, as if we are not egyptian. >> and police and militant egyptians are not the only ones, assaults are coming from the egyptian army. this is a home video of a mail tear attack near a monastery near alexandria, after local police abandoned their -- to protect themselves from intruders, the army responded sending in 100 soldiers with tanks and light artillery to destroy the wall, 6 people were injured including a monk whose spleen had to be removed because of the attack. . inger we were sad because we don't know why the army attacked like this. the army's supposed to protect us, not lead us and ocher us, we are innocent and pray and try to have people, that's all we were doing. >> the ba shoi monastery is

another example why they need protection from another government. they say there must be changes in their new constitution that include them. >> but the strongest political group in this time, the muslim brotherhood -- it opposed democratic changes in the constitution that would grant equal rights and allow christian and muslim women to become president. human rights advocate spends most of his time on face book sharing democratic ideas on face book, he says many egyptians are -- being fooled by the muslim brotherhood. >> the mus blum brotherhood are speaking about democratic but inside themselves, they are going to get the power and they're going to be dick tor i

can again, they're naive and optimistic about the muslim brotherhood. >> they say it would be much more open, but the 23 year o*els aren't running the brotherhood. >> anne marshal says the hamas -- under the brotherhood. >> hamas is the muslim's brotherhood of the palestinians, they want an election and there's been no election since, and they killed off the palestinian authority opponents. >> and whao's why many coptics may leave, they fear what will come, father al man nao*ut say they'll stay, the church has existed in egypt for 2 thousand years and will survive no matter what happens. >> we are trusting god and we are not afraid. jesus told us that the people against us use the hand of human beings, but we have the hand of god, the one who's covering us will save us.

>> gary lane, cbn news, cairo, egypt.

>> finally this week, a young mother is a i live today satangs to cbn's operation blessing in china, the 29 year-old traveled to beijing and had to get help for her son thao's death, while the couple was there, the mother suffered a stroke, if she survived she would more than likely be paralyzed, operation blessing china was able to raise more than 4 thousand dollars to pay for her surgery. it's wonderful to see how wonderful blessing is helping people worldwide. that's all for this edition of world news, james and wednesday