This footage from September 3, 2013
from the Syrian town of Jarablus on the Turkish border shows how the
brave "Mujahideen from the Islamic State" [in Iraq and the Levant]
confiscated a large quantity of Christian bibles and communion bread
while displaying a sign stating that there are things that are even more
dangerous than chemical weapons, referring to what they thinks are
attempts of evangelization and Christianization supposedly by Western
organizations.
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A Middle East Without Christians
Islamist
terrorists have exploited the lawless Sinai to perpetrate vicious
attacks on Egyptian Christians there, as reported earlier this week in
the New York Times. Indeed, throughout Egypt, the Copts continue to be
targeted and scapegoated for the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood.
As defenseless and abandoned as Mideast Christians seem today, it is
worth remembering their historical roots, and recognizing just how much
the plight of Middle East Christians has deteriorated. Over 2,000 years
ago, Christianity was born as a religion and spread from Jerusalem to
other parts of the Levant, including territories in modern Israel,
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt. The Christian faith flourished
as one of the major religions in the Middle East until the Muslim
conquests of the 7th century.
Despite Muslim domination of the region, Christians comprised an
estimated 20% of the Middle East population until the early 20th
century. Today, however, Christians make up a mere 2-5% of the Middle
East and their numbers are fast dwindling. Writing in the Winter 2001
issue of Middle East Quarterly, scholar Daniel Pipes estimated that
Middle East Christians would “likely drop to” half of their numbers “by
the year 2020″ because of declining birth rates, and a pattern of
“exclusion and persecution” leading to emigration.
The “Arab Spring” has only worsened conditions for the indigenous
Christians of the Middle East. Like the Kurds, Middle East Christians
are a stateless minority, struggling to survive in the world’s toughest
neighborhood. But the Kurds at least have enjoyed partial autonomy in
Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991 and most of them are Sunni Muslim, making it
easier for them to survive in the Muslim-dominated Middle East.
Christians, on the other hand, are a religious minority that controls no
territory and is entirely subject to the whims of their hosts. These
host countries – with the exception of Israel – offer a grim future to
Middle East Christians. Home to one of the oldest Christian communities
in the world, Egypt also has the largest Christian population in the
Middle East, totaling 8-12 million people. But because Christian Copts
make up only about 10-15% of Egypt’s estimated 80 million people, they
have for decades lived in fear as second-class citizens, subjected to
attacks on churches, villages, homes, and shops; mob killings; and the
abduction and forced Islamic conversion of Christian women compelled to
marry Muslim men. Such abuse took place under the staunchly secular
regime of Hosni Mubarak, but grew much worse under the rule of Mohammed
Morsi, the jailed Muslim Brotherhood activist who succeeded Mubarak, and
they are now being blamed for Morsi’s ouster.
Read More Here
*************************************************************
The Telegraph News
Christianity 'close to extinction' in Middle East
Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle
East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new
report.
The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than
any other religious group.
And it claims politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by
Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says,
claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a
fear that criticism will be seen as “racism”.
It warns that converts from Islam face being killed in Saudi Arabia,
Mauritania and Iran and risk severe legal penalties in other countries
across the Middle East.
The report, by the think tank Civitas, says: “It is generally accepted that
many faith-based groups face discrimination or persecution to some degree.
"A far less widely grasped fact is that Christians are targeted more than
any other body of believers.”
It cites estimates that 200 million Christians, or 10 per cent of Christians
worldwide, are “socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for
their beliefs.”
“Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political
priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells
us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood,” says the author,
Rupert Shortt, a journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.
He adds: “The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential
players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom
is the canary in the mine for human rights generally.”
The report, entitled Christianophobia, highlights a fear among oppressive
regimes that Christianity is a “Western creed” which can be used to
undermine them.
Read More Here
*************************************************************
Middle East Christians: Endangered in their ancestral land
By NOAH BECK
08/13/2013 23:24
As defenseless and abandoned as Middle East Christians seem today, it is worth remembering their historical roots.
A MAN and his donkey walk past Cairo’s main Cathedral. Photo: REUTERS
Islamist terrorists have exploited the lawlessness in the Sinai Peninsula to
perpetrate vicious attacks on Egyptian Christians there, as reported earlier
this week in
The New York Times. Indeed, throughout Egypt, the Copts continue to
be targeted and scapegoated for the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood.
As
defenseless and abandoned as Middle East Christians seem today, it is worth
remembering their historical roots, and recognizing just how much the situation
of Middle East Christians has deteriorated. Over 2,000 years ago, Christianity
was born as a religion and spread from Jerusalem to other parts of the Levant,
including territories in modern Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.
The Christian faith flourished as one of the major religions in the Middle East
until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century.
Despite Muslim domination
of the region, Christians comprised an estimated 20 percent of the Middle East
population until the early 20th century.
Today, however, Christians make
up a mere 2% to 5% of the Middle East and their numbers are fast dwindling.
Writing in the Winter 2001 issue of Middle East Quarterly, scholar Daniel Pipes
estimated that Middle East Christians would “likely drop to” half of their
numbers “by the year 2020” because of declining birth rates, and a pattern of
“exclusion and persecution” leading to emigration.
The “Arab Spring” has
only worsened conditions for the indigenous Christians of the Middle East. Like
the Kurds, Middle East Christians are a stateless minority, struggling to
survive in the world’s toughest neighborhood. But the Kurds at least have
enjoyed partial autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991 and most of them are
Sunni Muslim, making it easier for them to survive in the Muslim-dominated
Middle East.
Christians, on the other hand, are a religious minority that
controls no territory and is entirely subject to the whims of their hosts. These
host countries – with the exception of Israel – offer a grim future to Middle
East Christians.
Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the
world, Egypt also has the largest Christian population in the Middle East,
totaling 8-12 million people. But because Christian Copts make up only about 10%
to 15% of Egypt’s estimated 80 million people, they have for decades lived in
fear as second-class citizens, subjected to attacks on churches, villages, homes
and shops, mob killings and the abduction and forced Islamic conversion of
Christian women compelled to marry Muslim men.
Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, center, was sworn into the
presidency on Nov. 17, 2013. Photo by Maldivian government (press
release).
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