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Video of Burnhams is old, says New Tribes Mission
Good news: a video of Martin and Gracia Burnham made by their Muslim captors shows the American missionaries looking healthy. Bad news: No one believes the claim it was made in mid-January—it was probably made taped months ago. "They don't look as worn out as the last time we saw them," says Oreta Burnham, Martin's mother. "I don't see how their health could improve since then." In fact, as the tape makes no mention of the global war on terrorism, it was probably made even before September 11.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Philippine military has a pretty good idea of where the Burnhams and their captors are. More serious action could happen "in the next few days," says Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan. "We have a good idea of the general location of the Burnhams. We're now awaiting the results of our latest initiatives."

Reuters reports that the Burnhams have already been spotted. "They were in good condition, under the circumstances, when they were seen last week by my informants," says Mayor Sakib Salajin of Maluso.

Maluso made news earlier this week by taking a rather questionable approach to freeing the Burnhams: kidnapping. Eight relatives of Abu Sayyaf rebels were taken captive as bargaining chips. "Our target now is we want to rescue the hostages," says Salajin. "If we don't get them now, they will just grow stronger." Oreta Burnham isn't pleased. "We don't feel like this was the right way to go," she told the Associated Press. "In fact, we're a little worried, at this point, that this could be a hindrance to Martin and Gracia's release." New Tribes Mission spokesman Scott Ross agrees. "I'm not sure it's worth doing something that's wrong in itself to correct another situation," he said.

New Tribes Mission has designated Tuesday, March 12, as a special day of prayer for the hostages. Missionaries around the world will gather in special prayer services.

USA Todayon unchurched America:

• Charting the unchurched in America | Survey: Number of unchurched Americans has nearly doubled. (USA Today)
  
  
• 'Amen' to a church-free lifestyle | Washington is America's most unchurched state (USA Today)
  
  
• State-by-state breakdown of religious backgrounds (USA Today)
  
  

Nazareth's mosque:

• In shift, Israel bars building of a mosque near a church (The New York Times)
  
  
• Religious freedom in Nazareth | Those who decided that a gigantic mosque must be built next to Nazareth's main church, or that the entire Temple Mount must be transformed into an enormous mosque, do not believe in religious freedom but in religious conquest. (Editorial, The Jerusalem Post)
  
  
• Nazareth Islamic leader: Mosque decision 'declaration of war' (The Jerusalem Post)
  
  
• Israel halts mosque construction (Associated Press)
  
  

Colorado Senate prayer:

• Prayer on abortion raises brows | Assembly of God minister's invocation asks God's help to outlaw abortion and "stop the killing and murder" (Rocky Mountain News)
  
  
• Also: Lawmakers protest prayer in Colorado Senate (Associated Press)
  
  
• Also: No place for politics | Meek's prayer may be totally appropriate in his Greeley church, but he failed utterly to take into account that not everybody in the Senate is a Pentecostal Christian (Editorial, The Denver Post)
  
  

Abortion:

• Voters defeat Ireland abortion bill | Voters defeat referendum to amend Ireland's abortion laws, signaling a victory for abortion rights (Associated Press)
  
  
• Lawyer argues state's abortion notification law violates privacy | Florida law was blocked shortly after enactment (Associated Press)
  
  

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March (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46