"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Northwoods is a ministry dedicated to refreshing Christians and challenging them to search for the truth in Christianity, politics, sociology, and science
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
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Three of 11 people seized from Nigeria’s Kaduna state have died while being held captive in the same forest hideout used to confine 37 worshippers taken during Easter Sunday services at three churches in a nearby community.
The three made up part of a group of 11 people seized from Awon area on April 20 by heavily armed Fulani militia in Kachia Local Government Area, according to the U.K.-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
Militants confined the captives at the same forest hideout used to hold 37 worshippers kidnapped in coordinated attacks on three churches in Ariko community, also in Kachia LGA, during Easter Sunday services on April 5.
One of the 11 captives from Awon later escaped. Joy Samuel gave birth in the camp, and the baby died. Samuel herself died on Aug. 28. Her 3-year-old daughter, Silvia Samuel, was seized alongside her mother and is said to be in critical condition.
A woman from Ariko gave birth while in captivity, and the baby died about two weeks later. In early August, she escaped with her three other children, ages 4, 6 and 12. The youngest of the three was already critically ill and died while her mother carried her through the forest during the escape. The 12-year-old sibling then carried the child's body after their mother grew too weak from hunger to continue.
Yusuf Bawa, 34, and his 5-year-old son died of illness and severe hunger. Faith Kefas, 14, and Rachel Bulus, also 14, are reported to be gravely ill after months of surviving on nothing but river water.
The kidnappers initially demanded 300 million naira, about $225,700, and 23 motorcycles for the group’s release. They rejected a counter-offer of several million naira from the community and threatened to withhold food from the captives until the ransom was paid.
The kidnappers have since lowered their demand to 9 million naira, about $6,770, plus four motorcycles, in exchange for freeing the seven captives who remain, acknowledging that those captives are in extremely poor condition from illness and hunger.
CSW President Mervyn Thomas said, “Our hearts break at the horrific circumstances,” and extended condolences to the families of those who died.
Thomas called on state and federal authorities to intensify efforts to free all captives, including the children held in Borno state, several of whom are young. He also urged the government to adopt a comprehensive security strategy to protect vulnerable communities from armed groups operating with impunity.
Nigeria has continued to see ransom-driven mass kidnappings increase, with hundreds of people held in what the advocacy group called the normalization of prolonged captivity while payment is negotiated.
In one example, 42 schoolchildren abducted on May 15 from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira area in Uba LGA in Borno state by suspected Boko Haram militants remain in captivity more than 100 days later, according to CSW.
Thirty-six students and a teacher abducted on June 29 from Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, also in Askira area, remain captive as well.
The abductions form part of a six-year pattern documented by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, a nongovernmental research group, which recorded 34,773 civilian abductions in Nigeria from October 2019 to September 2025, including 15,932 Christians, 15,272 Muslims, 252 adherents of African traditional religions and 3,317 people whose religious identity could not be determined.
Kaduna state accounted for the largest share of civilian abductions overall and of Christian civilians abducted specifically, at 26% and 42% respectively, and the country’s Northwest zone recorded the most abductions of any region over the same period.
The same research counted 4,590 attacks involving abductions over the six years, an average of two a day, and found that unidentified armed groups carried out 49% of civilian abductions and Fulani-linked terror groups 43%, with Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa affiliate together responsible for the remaining 6%.
Syria: Sunni Muslims kidnap and murder 24-year-old Alawite
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights classifies this as having taken place on “retaliatory and sectarian grounds.” This man was apparently murdered for having the wrong beliefs.
“Kill them wherever you find them…” (Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, 4:91, cf. 9:5).
Homs syria3, No machine-readable author provided. Ss6sam6 assumed (based on copyright claims), Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5
Sectarian violence | Unidentified gunmen kidnap and kill young man in western Homs
Homs province: A 24-year-old man from the Alawite community was shot dead by unidentified gunmen yesterday, after being kidnapped from his work place in Al-Qabw area in the western countryside of Homs….
The Syrian Observatory has documented the murder of 135 persons, including 10 women and five children on retaliatory and sectarian grounds in different Syrian governorates since early 2026….
Nigeria: Muslims abduct and murder Christian pastor, taunt his wife about how she’ll never see her husband again
Why do jihadis seem to lack even an ounce of ordinary human compassion? Because the Qur’an commands them not to have it: “Muhammad is the apostle of Allah. Those who follow him are ruthless to unbelievers, merciful to one another.” (48:29)
Village near Bokkos by Jiřà Komárek, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
‘They told me I won’t see my husband alive’ – Widow of Plateau clergy killed by bandits. by Lekkyez Auta, Daily Post, September 1, 2026:
The widow of a Plateau State-based clergy, Pastor Emmanuel Hills, who was abducted and killed by gunmen said to be Fulani bandits on Friday, August 28, has narrated how the abductors taunted her.
According to her, the gunmen told her she would never see her husband alive again, before dragging him and another clergyman, Pastor Gabriel Dipak, into the bush.
True to their words, the body of Pastor Hills, a Ghanaian missionary and Senior Pastor of Wonderful Grace of God Ministry, as well as treasurer of the Bokkos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, was discovered the following morning close to where they were abducted….
Uganda: Muslim sons beat their father because he converted to Christianity, say he doesn’t deserve to live
The Qur’an depicts Abraham saying to his non-Muslim relatives: “We have done with you. And there has arisen between us and you hostility and hatred forever, until you believe in Allah alone.” (60:4).
The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an: “They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)
A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-‘ashriyyah, Al-Ja’fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”
Qaradawi also once famously said: “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn’t exist today.”
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – A 52-year-old Christian in eastern Uganda was recovering from injuries after his Muslim sons attacked him for leaving Islam, sources said.
In Nakalama village, Iganga Town Council, Kibirige Abumusa returned home on Aug. 9 after an extended stay in Jinja City, where he had put his faith in Christ on June 1. One of his adult sons, 28-year-old Kibirige Budallah, confronted him about his conversion, said neighbor and eyewitness Alice Naigaga.
Abumusa converted to Christianity after attending an open-air evangelistic event organized by Pastor Zakalia Sserwada of Evangel Church in Jinja City. A business colleague and member of True Worship Centre Church had encouraged Abumusa to attend the event.
Abumusa accepted Christ after attending the meetings for three days and later attended True Worship Church Centre in Jinja, where he stayed for discipleship until his return to his village in Iganga District on Aug. 9, according to the colleague, whose name is withheld for security reasons.
Abumusa’s son, Budallah, had learned about his conversion from Imam Kisige Musitafa of Jinja mosque, which Abumusa had previously attended. The imam had accompanied Abumusa to the evangelistic event, according to the friend. Immediately after Abumusa’s conversion, the imam informed Budallah, the source said.
Budallah questioned his father upon his return about abandoning Islam, calling him a kafir (infidel), and told him that he did not deserve to live because of his decision to leave Islam, Naigaga said. Budallah struck Abumusa with a stick, and his four other sons joined in beating him, said Naigaga, who took photographs of the attack from a distance before calling for neighborhood help.
By the time neighbors arrived, Abumusa was weak, bleeding from the nose and had wounds on his hands, legs and back, she said.
Naigaga said she heard Budallah referring to Islamic teachings concerning Muslims who leave Islam and claiming that killing such persons would earn the killer paradise….
Paradise in Islam is a pseudonym for Hell.
Thailand: Islamic jihadis carry out wave of bomb blasts, shootings and arson
They want a separate Islamic nation in southern Thailand. Note the similarities: in Israel, the “Palestinians” want a separate Islamic nation (and ultimately, to destroy the state of Israel altogether). In Cyprus, the Muslims want a separate Islamic nation (and ultimately, to take over the whole island). In Kashmir, the Muslims want a separate Islamic nation (and ultimately, to take over all of India). Everywhere Muslims go, they want a bit more land for the dar al-Islam, and short-sighted Infidels, anxious for peace, are all too often happy to give in to them, not realizing that more demands will immediately follow.
Pattani Bypass Highway, Unknown author, Public domain
Wave of bomb blasts, shootings and arson shakes Southern Thailand: All you need to know about the Islamic insurgents suspected behind the attacks
A wave of coordinated attacks jolted southern Thailand over the weekend (22nd and 23rd August), leaving three people injured and causing massive property damage. According to some reports, around 51 coordinated attacks were carried out in 21 districts of three Muslim-dominated, insurgency-hit provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Some other reports stated that the attacks were over 70 in number and were spread across four provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla.
The attacks included bombings, warning shootings, attacks on local government offices, and arson targeting telecommunications infrastructure, CCTV cameras, vehicles, and property. The majority of the attacks reportedly happened in Narathiwat province, where three people were injured, followed by Yala and Pattani….
The provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat were officially recognised by the British as part of Thailand in the early 1990s under the Anglo-Siamese Treaty, which demarcated the existing political border between Thailand and Malaysia. The treaty was signed between Thailand (then the Kingdom of Siam) and the United Kingdom in 1909.
Under the treaty, the Siamese kingdom relinquished its claim over the territories of the northern Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu in favour of the British colonisers but retained its control over regions including Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Satun. The three provinces were already being ruled by the Siamese kingdom, and the treaty merely recognised it. Before the treaty, the three provinces were part of the former Malay-Muslim Patani sultanate. It is based on this piece of Thai history that the insurgents have been calling for a separate Islamic nation….
