Prossegue a jihad contra os cristãos do Iraque

Amplify’d from www.jihadwatch.org

Note the lack of an agent in the headline. Then in the body of the AP story we hear they are "gunmen," with the suggestion that they're affiliated with "al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq." It is forbidden to say anything that might give readers some hint of the ideology behind such attacks. "Iraq Attack Kills Elderly Assyrian Couple At Home," from AP, December 5:

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi police are reporting a new attack on Christians in Baghdad by gunmen who broke into the home of an elderly couple and killed them. It was the latest in a series of attacks on the country's Christian minority, which has been fleeing the country in droves since an Oct. 31 assault on a Catholic church that killed 68. al-Qaeda's [sic] front group in Iraq has threatened Christians, saying the violence is retribution for Egypt's Coptic Church holding women captive for converting to Islam. Police said four gunmen raided the home in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood Sunday evening and repeatedly shot the couple with silenced pistols before escaping.... Read more at www.jihadwatch.org

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Jihad contra os cristãos do Iraque

Amplify’d from www.jihadwatch.org

Iraqi Christians fear plot to drive them out of the country

The jihad against the Christians in Iraq continues without letup. "Iraqi Christians Fear Eradication," by Hemin Baban for Rudaw, December 5:

ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan: As more Christians are displaced from their homes in Iraq, they believe some groups and international intelligence services are masterminding a "plot" to drive them out of the country, just as with the forced expulsion of the Jewish minority in the past. Iraqi Christians have recently come under a new wave of attacks in Baghdad and other violent parts of the country, causing many of them to migrate to the much safer Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq or to live abroad. Johnson Siyawash Eyo, deputy head of the National Chaldean-Siryac-Assyrian Council, says that, out of the 1.5 million Christians that lived in Iraq until the 1990s, only 450,000 now remain in the country. "Some parties who have an incorrect understanding of Christians have a plot to eradicate Iraq of its Christians," Eyo said. He expressed fears that Iraq's Christian population might share the same fate as the Iraqi Jews of the middle of the last century who numbered in the tens of thousands and are now almost invisible.... He accused several international bodies, in cooperation with various countries' intelligence agencies, of "trying to eradicate the Christians in the Middle East. They have started with Iraq but if their project succeeds in Iraq, they will continue with other countries [in the region]." Eyo said that, instead of granting asylum to Christian refugees, Western governments should send funds to Christians in Iraq "to make them politically and economically stronger." Iraq's Christian population stood at around 149,000 after the 1947 census, roughly 3.7 percent of the country's population. In 1987, there were around one million Christians in Iraq out of a population of 18.5 million people, over 5 percent of the population. But now the number of Christians is estimated at under half a million.... Luay Matta, an advisor to Emmanuel Delly, the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldean Catholics, for instance, was unhesitant to accuse al-Qaeda of trying to "eliminate Iraq's Christians." "But we don't know if this is backed by other regional parties or just by al Qaeda and other extremist groups," Matta said. Read more at www.jihadwatch.org

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Considerações sobre a perseguição muçulmana dos cristãos do Oriente

Amplify’d from pajamasmedia.com

In 2006, when Pope Benedict quoted history deemed unflattering to Islam, Christians around the Muslim world paid the price: anti-Christian riots ensued, churches were burned, and a nun was murdered in Somalia. That was then. Days ago, when a Christian in Egypt was accused of dating a Muslim woman, twenty-two Christian homes were set ablaze, to cries of  “Allah Akbar.” Countless other examples of one group of Christians in the Muslim world being “punished” in response to other Christians exist.

In fact, the recent carnage in Baghdad, wherein Islamists stormed a church during mass, killing over fifty Christian worshippers, was a “response” to Egypt’s Coptic Christian church, which Islamists accuse of kidnapping and torturing Muslim women to convert to Christianity. (Ironically, the well documented reality in Egypt is that Muslims regularly kidnap and force Christian women to convert to Islam: these accusations are part of a new trend whereby Islamists  project their own crimes onto the Copts.) And the al-Qaeda affiliated Islamists who perpetrated the Baghdad church massacre have further threatened Christians around the world:

All Christian centres, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them.”… Let these idolaters [Christians of the world], and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican [Pope Benedict], know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing.

Of course, the clause “wherever they can reach them” is an indicator that it is the Islamic world’s Christians who will especially be targeted — since they are most easily reached.

This phenomenon — attacking one set of Christians, or non-Muslims in general, in response to another — has roots in Islamic law. The Pact of Omar, a foundational text for Islam’s treatment of dhimmis (i.e., non-Muslims who refused to convert after their lands were seized by Islam) makes this clear. The consequences of breaking any of the debilitating and humiliating conditions Christians were made to accept in order to be granted a degree of surety by the Muslim state — including things like giving up their seats to Muslims, as a show of “respect” — were stark: “If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves stand surety, we forfeit our covenant [dhimma], and we become liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition [that is, they become viewed as “unprotected” infidels, and thus exposed to the same treatment, including slavery, rape, and death.].”

Moreover, the actions of the individual affect the entire group — hence the “hostage” aspect (everyone is under threat to ensure that everyone behaves). As Mark Durie points out, “Even a breach by a single individual dhimmi could result in jihad being enacted against the whole community. Muslim jurists have made this principle explicit, for example, the Yemeni jurist al-Murtada wrote that ‘The agreement will be canceled if all or some of them break it…’ and the Moroccan al-Maghili taught ‘The fact that one individual (or one group) among them has broken the statute is enough to invalidate it for all of them’” (The Third Choice, p.160).

This notion, that the actions of one affect all, plays out regularly in Egypt. According to Bishop Kyrillos, “every time there is a rumor of a relationship between a Coptic man and a Muslim girl [which is forbidden under Islamic law], the whole Coptic community has to pay the price: ‘It happened in Kom Ahmar (Farshout) where 86 Coptic-owned properties were torched, in Nag Hammadi we were killed and on top of that, they torched 43 homes and shops and now in Al-Nawahed village just because a girl and a boy are walking beside each other in the street, the whole place is destroyed.’”

Worse, as the world continues to shrink, the Muslim world’s indigenous Christians are being conflated with their free coreligionists in the West: perceptions of the latter affect the treatment of the former. Race or geography is no longer important; shared religion makes them all liable for one another. A dhimmi is a dhimmi is a dhimmi.

For example, aside from the Baghdad church massacre, Iraq’s Christians have long been targeted “over their religious ties with the West. … Christians specifically were targeted by Church bombings and assassination attempts owing to a perceived association with the aims and intentions of the occupying forces.” Little wonder more than half of Iraq’s Christian population has emigrated from the country since the U.S. toppled Saddam’s regime.

Historical precedents to this phenomenon are aplenty. Whereas the Copts today are cited as the reason behind the massacre of Iraqi Christians, nearly a millennium ago, Copts were massacred when their western coreligionists — the Crusaders — made inroads into Islam’s domains. Again, the logic was clear: we will punish these Christians, because we can, in response to those Christians.

It should be noted that this approach applies to all non-Muslim groups — Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. — living amidst Muslim majorities. Yet, because Christians are the most visible infidel minority in the Islamic world, most modern examples relate to them. The Copts are especially targeted because they compromise the largest Christian bloc in the Middle East. (Centuries before the Muslim conquests, Egypt was a bedrock of Christianity, and Alexandria arguably equal to Rome in authority. The result is, after centuries of persecution, there is still a viable Christian presence in Egypt — much to the Islamists’ chagrin.)

Treating non-Muslim minorities as hostages can even have international consequences. According to Jewish writer Vera Saeedpour, the Turkish government pressured Israel’s policies, including by threatening “the lives and livelihood of the 180,000 Jews” in Turkey:

In the Spring of 1982 when Jews scheduled an International Conference on Genocide in Tel Aviv, they invited Armenians to participate. Ankara protested. The Israeli Government moved swiftly to get organizers to cancel insisting that the conference as planned would threaten “the humanitarian interest of Jews.” The New York Times explained what “humanitarian interest” meant. Organizers were told by Israeli officials that Turkey meant to sever diplomatic relations and had threatened “the lives and livelihood of the 18,000 Jews” in the country. (NYT 6.3.82 and 6.4.82) To drive home the message, Ankara even sent a delegation of Jews from Istanbul who warned that they could be in jeopardy if the conference included Armenians. Chairman Elie Wlesel was first quoted as saying, “I will not discriminate against the Armenians, I will not humiliate them.” Later, citing threats to the lives of Jews in Turkey, he resigned.

All this is a reminder that yet another aspect of Islamic doctrine and history — to be added to jihad, taqiyya, wala wa bara, etc. — is alive and well in the 21st century. Treating one set of non-Muslims as hostages, to be abused as a form of retaliation to their coreligionists — far or near, singly or collectively — is just another tactic to assume leverage against the infidel.

Raymond Ibrahim is the associate director of the Middle East Forum, the author of The Al Qaeda Reader, and a guest lecturer at the National Defense Intelligence College. Read more at pajamasmedia.com

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Entrevista: Cristãos no Irão à beira da extinção?

Amplify’d from timedecristo.wordpress.com

Visto que os cristãos fogem em grande número do Irã, tanto por razões políticas como religiosas, a comunidade cristã corre verdadeiro perigo de extinção, afirma o jornalista e observador das Igrejas do Oriente Médio, Camille Eid. Camille Eid é libanês e vive na Itália onde é professor do idioma árabe na prestigiada Universidade Católica de Milão e na Universidade Biccocca Milão. Ele é também presidente da Federação Árabe Fenícia que estuda a cultura árabe. Nesta entrevista, Camille Eid explica como é a vida para um cristão que vive no Irã e como e por que os cristãos persas são proibidos pelos muçulmanos de orar no idioma persa em seus cultos a Cristo.

Pergunta: O Irã tem 99% de muçulmanos e o islã é a religião do Estado. As raízes da Igreja no Irã são muito antigas e remontam ao século II. O cristianismo é a religião mais antiga do Irã? Camille Eid: Não, temos duas comunidades mais antigas que o cristianismo. Em primeiro lugar, temos a comunidade zoroástrica, que remonta a vários séculos antes da chegada do cristianismo e do islã. Em segundo lugar, temos a comunidade judaica. A comunidade zoroástrica soma cerca de 20 mil pessoas, e a judaica, entre 20 e 35 mil. Estas duas comunidades são mais antigas que a cristã.

Pergunta: Hoje, o Irã é mais de 99% muçulmano. Como o islã permeia a vida cotidiana? Camille Eid: Se você estiver nas ruas de Teerã, ou em qualquer parte do país, verá o retrato dos mártires, do Aiatolá. Se você usar o telefone de uma cabine pública, escutará a voz do imã Hussein lhe dizendo o que fazer.

Pergunta: Assim que você tira o telefone do gancho, ouvirá imediatamente uma voz (gravada) do imã? Camille Eid: Sim. E nas escolas são permitidas diversas disciplinas, mas por meio da perspectiva que se baseia no Alcorão e no Hadit e outras ciências islâmicas.

Pergunta: A imagem do Aiatolá está estampada na capa dos livros de catecismo? Camille Eid: Exatamente. E pode ser uma forma de mostrar que os cristãos estão sob a proteção do regime e são considerados dhimmis (pessoas protegidas) na lei Sharia islâmica. É uma forma de dizer que vocês (os cristãos) estão sob nosso regime (islâmico).

Pergunta: Eu ia lhe perguntar sobre as patrulhas que fiscalizam se as mulheres se vestem de modo adequado. Camille Eid: É assim. Algumas vezes utilizam a linha dura e outras, não, dependendo do regime. Sob Khatami, por exemplo, foram um pouco mais liberais porque as crianças podiam mostrar um pouco de sua cabeça. Sob Ahmadinejad é mais restrito.

Pergunta: Atualmente a restrição é maior com a vestimenta completa? Camille Eid: Sim. Só se deve mostrar o rosto. Há mulheres que cobrem as mãos e o rosto.

Pergunta: O número de cristãos é de cerca de 100 mil em uma população de 71 milhões. Como são vistos os cristãos no Irã? Camille Eid: Os cristãos são vistos como minorias étinicas porque são predominantemente armênios, e sírio-caldeus. Temos 80 mil armênios ortodoxos que também são chamados de armênios gregorianos ou apostólicos, 5 mil católicos armênios, e cerca de 20 mil sírio-caldeus, e mais outras comunidades como igrejas latinas, protestantes, que, todas juntas, somam entre 100 e 110 mil cristãos. São vistos como minorias étnicas e, como tais, não é permitido que celebrem seus ritos em parsi (o idioma persa), mas sim em armênio ou caldeu.

Pergunta: Para distingui-los como estrangeiros?- Camille Eid: Não só por isso, mas para evitar que sejam atrativos e compreendidos pelos iranianos locais.

Pergunta: Para evitar que os iranianos se sintam atraídos pela fé cristã? Camille Eid: Sim, para evitar que os iranianos compreendam o que os cristãos dizem. Só houve um caso; foi em Teerã poucos dias depois da morte do Papa João Paulo II, e o sacerdote leu as Escrituras em parsi na presença das autoridades. Este foi um caso excepcional.

Pergunta: Mas ainda assim o Parlamento reserva três assentos para os cristãos. Portanto, os cristãos têm voz dentro da estrutura parlamentarista? Camille Eid: De fato, a República Islâmica conservou a Constituição de 1906, que reserva cinco assentos para as minorias – três para os cristãos, um para os zoroástricos, e outro para os judeus.

Pergunta: Os direitos cristãos estão garantidos pela Constituição? Camille Eid: Não. No artigo 13, é mencionado que todos os iranianos são iguais pela raça e pela língua, mas não se mencionada nada pela religião. No artigo 14, se me permite lê-lo: “todas as comunidades não muçulmanas se absterão de tomar parte em conspirações contra o islã e contra a República islâmica do Irã”. E por último, o artigo 19 estabelece: “todos iranianos de qualquer grupo étnico devem gozar dos mesmos direitos e a cor, raça ou língua não oferecem privilégio algum”. Aqui também não há nenhuma referência à religião.

Pergunta: Mas não diz, dentro do artigo 13 da Constituição, que os cristãos são permitidos de expressar seus desejos e praticar sua fé? Camille Eid: Sempre que não formem parte de conspirações contra a República do Irã. O que significa isso? Significa protestar contra o regime? O problema do Irã é ser um regime teocrático. Assim a oposição ao regime como uma ação política pode ser interpretada como agir contra a República Islâmica. Dentro da comunidade islâmica, estão os liberais e os conservadores. Ao protestar contra o Aiatolá Khamenei estão protestando contra o corpo político do regime ou contra o religioso? Quando o regime político e religioso tem a mesma formação, um ataque contra o corpo político é considerado um ataque a um aspecto religioso do regime teocrático.

Pergunta: Quais as restrições que os cristãos enfrentam em sua vida diária? Camille Eid: Bem, para os cristãos é difícil encontrar trabalhos na administração pública. Mesmo diretores de colégios cristãos são muçulmanos, mas com uma exceção. Em Esfahan, há três ou quatro anos, quando o governo nomeou um armênio para o Colégio Armênio. Mas na maioria dos casos os diretores das escolas cristãs são muçulmanos. Isso para os poucos colégios cristãos que ficaram após os confiscos de 1979 e 1980. Outro exemplo no Exército. Há alguns anos descobriram que um oficial, o coronel Hamid Pourmand, havia se convertido ao cristianismo. Foi processado e foi levado à corte marcial, mas graças à pressão internacional pôde abandonar o Irã. É muito difícil que os cristãos estejam em cargos altos do governo no Irã.

Pergunta: Que vida tem um muçulmano convertido? Camille Eid: Nada pode confessar sua fé dentro do Irã. Só é possível se for ao estrangeiro. Conheço duas famílias iranianas na Itália que são convertidas. Uma das famílias cruzou a fronteira entre Irã e Turquia no inverno. Foi difícil, mas conseguiram asilo. Dentro do Irã não podiam expressar ou mostrar sua fé porque enfrentariam a morte. Não é Fácil.

Pergunta: Queria tocar na questão da fuga de cristãos do Irã após a revolução islâmica de 1979. Cerca da metade da população cristã abandonou o país e existe, até onde pude ler e entender, cerca de 10 mil famílias que abandonam o Irã a cada ano. O que significa isso para a comunidade cristã no Irã? Camille Eid: Tanto os muçulmanos quanto os não muçulmanos sofrem com a pressão política, mas os cristãos sofrem o dobro, porque é o aspecto político do regime que é questionado pela maioria dos iranianos e, sobre este fato, há a pressão religiosa para os não muçulmanos. Essa é a razão desta fuga massiva e, de fato, há um verdadeiro perigo de desaparecimento, de uma extinção do cristianismo no Irã.

* * *

Esta entrevista foi realizada por Mark Riedemann para o programa de TV “Lá onde Deus chora”, um programa semanal produzido por Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN), em parceria com a organização cristã católica Ajuda à Igreja que Sofre. Mais informação em www.aisbrasil.org.br, www.fundacao-ais.pt

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O genocído dos cristãos do Médio Oriente às mãos dos muçulmanos

Khaled Abu Toameh [http://www.hudson-ny.org/author/Khaled+Abu+Toameh] é cidadão israelita, filho de pai judeu e mãe muçulmana; identifica-se como israelita palestiniano e muçulmano. É jornalista do Jerusalem Post [http://www.jpost.com/].

Amplify’d from www.hudson-ny.org

Muslim Genocide of Christians Throughout Middle East

by Khaled Abu Toameh

It is obvious by now that the Christians in the Middle East are an "endangered species."

Christians in Arab countries are no longer being persecuted; they are now being slaughtered and driven out of their homes and lands.

Those who for many years turned a blind eye to complaints about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East now owe the victims an apology. Now it is clear to all that these complaints were not "Jewish propaganda."

The war of genocide against Christians in the Middle East can no longer be treated as an "internal affair" of Iraq or Egypt or the Palestinians. What the West needs to understand is that radical Islam has declared jihad not only against Jews, but also against Christians.

In Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territories, Christians are being targeted almost on a daily basis by Muslim fundamentalists and secular dictators.

Dozens of Arab Christians in Iraq have been killed in recent months in what seems to be well-planned campaign to drive them out of the country. Many Christian families have already begun fleeing Iraq out of fear for their lives.

Some have chosen to start new lives in Jordan, while many others are expressing hope that they could be resettled in North America or Europe.

In Egypt, the plight of the Coptic Christian minority appears to be worsening. Just this week, the Egyptian security forces killed a Coptic Christian man and wounded scores of others who were protesting against the government's intention to demolish a Christian-owned structure.

Hardly a day passes without reports of violence against members of the Coptic Christian community in various parts of Egypt. Most of the attacks are carried out by Muslim fundamentalists.

According to the Barnabas Fund, an advocacy and charitable organization based in the United Kingdom, "Fears for the safety of Egyptian Christians are growing after a series of false allegations, violent threats and mass demonstrations against Christians in Egypt."

Muslim anger was ignited by unfounded accusations that Egyptian Christians were aligned with Israel and stockpiling weapons in preparation for war against Muslims.

The Barnabas Fund noted that Egyptian authorities have been accused of complicity for political reasons in the escalating sectarian crisis.

Palestinian Christians have also been feeling the heat, although they their conditions remain much better than those of their brothers and sisters in Iraq and Egypt.

Last week, the Western-funded Palestinian Authority in the West Bank arrested a Christian journalist who reported about differences between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Fatah operative Mohammed Dahlan. The journalist, George Qanawati, manager of Radio Bethlehem 2000, was freed five days later.

In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the tiny Christian community is also living in fear following a spate of attacks by radical Islamic groups.

The failure of the international community to pay enough attention to the dangers facing the Christians encouraged radical Muslims and corrupt dictatorships to step up their assaults on Christian individuals and institutions.

When Muslim fanatics cannot kill Christian soldiers or civilians in the mountains of Afghanistan or on the streets of New York, they choose an easy prey: their Arab Christian neighbors. Read more at www.hudson-ny.org

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Egipto: perseguição dos coptas pelos muçulmanos

Discriminação e perseguição pelos muçulmanos contra os seus concidadão coptas (não são emigrantes), uma história com 1400 de abrandamentos e exacerbamentos.

Enquanto isso, Hillary Clinton e o bobo que preside os EUA, declaram-se preocupados com a liberdade religiosa na EUROPA!!! por causa das restrições ao uso dos véus islâmicos e à construção de minaretes, esses brutais atentados contra as liberdades dos muçulmanos, ao pé dos quais os raptos e a coacção para a conversão ao islão são brincadeiras de crianças.

Amplify’d from kitmantv.blogspot.com

Brilliant new documentary from Swiss television detailing the sadist persecution of christians in Egypt! The apartheid in Egypt of course makes the South-african seem like disneyland. Furthermore this documentary is also rich on examples on what seems to amount no less than a  return to the Devshirme tax on dhimmis. Father Mathias reports 160 abductions of christian girls, within this year alone. The authorities know where the girls are, but refuses to pursue the cases because its only fair that such a thing happen to "fillthy kuffaar" - Thus leaving the coptic families childless in the sewage they have been forced to live in. -Of course there is no human rights issue here, everything is running in strict accordance with the Cairo declaration of human rights. - No news in the MSM either Lastly, I cannot help but find it interesting that none of the 20 million muslims living in Europe, who knew about christian persecution, cared to tell us... Preferring instead to whine about how they themselves are being discriminated against.

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Irão: clérigo cristão condenado à morte por crime de apostasia

Amplify’d from www.jihadwatch.org

Islamic apologists in the U.S. routinely deny that Islamic law mandates that apostates from Islam be murdered. Unfortunately for the apostates, the facts are otherwise.

Muhammad, the prophet of Islam and supreme example of conduct for the Muslim (cf. Qur’an 33:21), said: “Whoever changes his Islamic religion, then kill him.” (Bukhari 9.84.57)

The Tafsir al-Qurtubi, a classic and thoroughly mainstream exegesis of the Qur’an, says this about Qur’an 2:217: “Scholars disagree about whether or not apostates are asked to repent. One group say that they are asked to repent and, if they do not, they are killed. Some say they are given an hour and others a month. Others say that they are asked to repent three times, and that is the view of Malik. Al-Hasan said they are asked a hundred times. It is also said that they are killed without being asked to repent.”

All the schools of Islamic jurisprudence all teach that a sane adult male who leaves Islam must be killed. They have some disagreements about what must he done with other types of people who leave Islam, but they have no disagreement on that.

The internationally renowned Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has been praised as a “reformist” by pseudo-academic John Esposito and who has said this about Islamic apostasy law: “That is why 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.”

“Iranian Pastor Accused of ‘Thought Crimes’ to Die by Hanging,” by Michael Ireland for Assist News Service, November 13 via JW:

TEHRAN, IRAN (ANS) — An Iranian court has passed down a death sentence on a Christian pastor, who was found guilty of so-called “thought crimes.”

According to www.presenttruthmn.com, the official verdict has now been delivered in writing to Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, stating that he is to be hung for the crime of apostasy…. Read more at www.jihadwatch.org

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Conversões pela força no Egipto

Amplify’d from www.minutodigital.com

“Se trata de un episodio entre dos jóvenes que se ha puesto de relieve para hacer quedar mal a los cristianos”, dice Su Exc. Monseñor Joannes Zakaria, Obispo de los coptos católicos de Luxor, en Egipto, en cuya diócesis se encuentra la aldea de al-Nawahid en Qena, en la provincia de Qena (Sur de Egipto), donde los extremistas musulmanes han quemado casas y negocios de los cristianos coptos después de que se habían extendido rumores de un romance entre un cristiano y una chica musulmana. “Afortunadamente, en este caso, la policía ha intervenido rápidamente y ha impuesto de inmediato el toque de queda, impidiendo que los ataques causasen daños más graves”, dice Monseñor Zakaria.

“Una historia entre muchachos que se han convertido en un pretexto para atacar a los cristianos. En cambio, tenemos razones para creer, que existe un plan para obligar a los cristianos a convertirse, especialmente a las chicas, que son las más vulnerables”, continúa Mons. Zakaria. “Estamos al tanto de varios casos de jóvenes musulmanes que echan el ojo a chicas cristianas y tratan de secuestrarlas para convertirlas al Islam por la fuerza”, dice el Obispo de Luxor. “Se han producido incidentes similares desde Alejandría hasta Asuán”.

Monseñor Joannes Zakaria

“Como cristianos de Egipto, nos sentimos muy cercanos a nuestros hermanos en la fe perseguidos en Irak. El domingo, 14 de noviembre, he celebrado una misa aquí en Luxor, a la que han asistido muchos fieles, por las almas de las personas que murieron el 31 de octubre en el atentado de la Iglesia siro-católica de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro de Bagdad”, dice Mons. Zakaria.

“Es nuestra cruz que llevamos con serenidad, a pesar del dolor de nuestro corazón, porque nos permite compartir los sufrimientos de Cristo Redentor”, concluye el Obispo de Luxor. Read more at www.minutodigital.com

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Muçulmano imola copta, cujo pai foi morto pela multidão

Tolerância religiosa, à maneira muçulmana: ao mínimo acto visto pelos muçulmanos como desrespeitoso, castigo severo. É consequência do estatuto dhimmi previsto para os cristãos e judeus pela sharia.

Amplify’d from voiceofthecopts.org

A Muslim man set fire to a Coptic young man, murdered his father and wounded his younger brother, after it was rumored that the young Copt allegedly had a relationship with the Muslim man's sister!!

The events took place in the small village of "Dmas" Meet-Ghamr, after a rumor spread around of a relationship between the 25-year-old Copt Shihata Sabri, and the sister of a Muslim man named Yasser Ahmed Qasim.

Yasser went to Coptic Shehata, holding a gasoline canister, poured it over him and set him on fire, as bystanders looked on in horror. The young Copt threw himself into the adjacent canal to try to put out the flames from his burning body. The fire left burns all over his body, leading to his death.

Following this incident, people in the village rallied and when the 60-years-old Sabri Shehata, father of the Coptic victim arrived, he was attacked by a group of Muslims stabbing him with knives and daggers; one stab penetrated his back to come out of his abdomen below the rib cage, resulting in his death, after being transferred to hospital.

A Coptic witness said that Yasser Ahmed, who is reputed to be a thug, and others have also beaten the Coptic victim's younger brother, 22-year old Rami Sabri Shehata, causing a deep injury to his head.

The security forces moved into the village of Dmas, which has a population of 60,000 people, including over 1000 Copts, surrounded the victims' house and deployed extra forces throughout the village.

The offenders were arrested together with the accused Yasser Ahmed Kassem and his friend, as well as the Copt Shehata Sabry who was held in custody in Dmas Hospital. The offenders were charged with deliberate homicide.

The body of Coptic victim Sabri Shehata was released for burial after prayers took place at the Church of Our Lady in the village of Dakados, which lies 20 kilometers from Dmas, amid a tight security siege.

A Muslim villager portrayed the incident as an honour killing stressing that it was because of Coptic Shehata Sabri teasing Yasser about a relationship he has with his sister, which prompted him and his friend to pour gasoline all over the Copt before setting him on fire. He denied that this incident will have an impact on the relations between the Muslims and Copts in the village.

The prosecution and the State Security Services are still investigating the incident amid media blackout.Read more at voiceofthecopts.org

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O tratamento dos cristão pelos otomanos

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Le Traitement des Chretiens sous le Regne du Sultan Turc

Dans la litterature musulmane on nous donne un portrait idealise,que les non-musulmans etaient bien traites.En 1900 , 30% de la population de la Turquie actuelle etait chretienne.Le caliphat turc,avec son sultan, s’acheva en 1924.

Un Traitement Humiliant:

1.Le Devchirme:

Pendant 300 ans les turcs musulmans ont enleve et vole les enfants des chretiens dans la region balkanique (Grece,Albanie,Roumanie,Yougoslavie et meme l’Hongrie).Au moins 500.000 enfants furent obliges de devenir musulmans et devenir des soldats du sultan turc(les janissaires).

Des janissaires turcs

Et si les croises chretiens avaient vole 500.000 enfants musulmans de la Palestine et la Syrie au moyen age?

Et si ces memes croises avaient oblige les enfant a devenir chretiens et à lutter contre les musulmans?Quelle serait la reaction aujourd’hui du monde musulman?On aurait de la condamnation sans cesse.

2.Le Grand Massacre des Armeniens (1895) par les Turcs Musulmans:

En 1895 (pendant le regne du sultan musulman,pendant le caliphat,qui a dure jusqu’a 1924)au moins 200.000 armeniens furent massacres….seulement parce qu’ils etaient chretiens.

3.Le Genocide des Armeniens (1915-1917)

Une scène atroce du génocide arménien de 1915 perpétré par les Turcs

De nouveau,encore sous le regne du sultan au moins 1.5 million d’armeniens furent massacres surtout parce qu’ils etaient chretiens.Parfois on dit que la raison “n’etait pas religieuse” sinon “nationaliste”.Il y avait un element nationaliste,mais nier l’element religieux n’est pas convaincant.Quelques 200.000 femmes armeniennes se sont sauvees du genocide en se convertissant a l’islam et devenant les femmes des hommes kurdes(et les kurdes sont musulmans).

4.Le Grand Massacre des Chretiens Assyriens/Chaldeens (1914-1918) par les Turcs Musulmans:

C’est encore sous le pouvoir du sultan,au moins 250.000 (mais les etudes plus recentes donnent le chiffre de 500.000-750.000) chretiens assyriens (d’une population totale d’un million) furent massacres par les musulmans,seulement pour etre chretien.

Pour savoir plus:

http://www.atour.com/holocaust/

5.Le Grand Massacre des Chretiens Grecs (au moins 700.000) par les Turcs Musulmans(1914-1923):

Selon plusieurs sources la quantite des grecs tues par les musulmans en Turquie etait de 300.000-360.000 seulement dans la region appelee le Pontus.

Par exemple,selon la Ligue Internationale pour les Droits et la Liberation des Peuples entre 1916-1923 350.000 grecs de cette region furent tues dans des massacres et les mauvais traitements.L’historien Merrill Peterson donne le chiffre de 360.000 grecs(dans “Starving Armenians:America and the Armenian Genocide”(2004)).George Valavanis donne le chiffre de 353.000(dans “Contemporary General History of Pontus”(1925)).Et Constantine Hatzidimitriou it que le chiffre total,pour tous les grecs de la Turquie etait 735.000(dans “American Accounts Documentating the Destruction of Smyrna by Kemalist Turkish Forces:September 1922″,page 2).

Pour plus d’information:

http://may19.net/

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Os tormentos dos cristãos iraquianos – considerações na sequência do recente ataque a uma igreja em Bagdad

MEMRI: uma preciosa fonte de notícias, de informação história e de imagens.

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The Plight of the Iraqi Christians – An Update following the Attack on the Baghdad Church

By: Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli*

Introduction

"The Plight of Iraqi Christians" was the title of a MEMRI document published over five years ago. The document was published during a period of intense sectarian violence that affected many sectors in Iraqi society, but, as we stressed at the time, the Christians "have been specifically targeted by Islamists, who either accuse them of collaborating with the 'invading crusading army' or label them as infidels. As Islamist pressures mounted in Iraq... Christian businesses were destroyed, Christian university students were harassed and Christian women were forced to wear the veil." In the same document, a Christian was quoted as saying: "Some of the Muslims consider us infidels. We are being targeted. They will eat us alive."[1] His premonition has proven to be tragically accurate.

Islam's Treatment of Minorities throughout the Ages

Liberal writer Dr. 'Abd Al-Khaliq Hussein wrote about the suffering of Christians in the Middle East, placing it in the broader context of Islam's treatment of minorities, particularly Christians and Jews, since the time of Muhammad.

Hussein points out that, while Arab writers frequently boast about the tolerant treatment of Christians, Jews, and Sabians in the Muslim world, the reality is actually very different. He shows that while some parts of the Koran and the Hadith advocate tolerance towards non-Muslims, others do not. For example, Koran 3:85 states that "whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers."

Dr. Hussein points out further that, throughout Arab and Islamic history, the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims has not been as warm as some claim; in fact, it has often been tragic. Muhammad is recorded as saying that no two religions shall live side by side in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Second Caliph, 'Omar, ordered Christians and Jews to be treated harshly and expelled from the Arabian Peninsula. Prominent medieval scholar Ibn Taymiyya, revered by today's Wahhabis, described churches as polytheist temples, and said that only mosques are houses of Allah. This historical background, says Dr. Hussein, has been exploited by the Wahhabi clerics of Saudi Arabia to persecute non-Muslims, and Al-Qaeda's description of the Baghdad church as "a corrupt den of polytheism" echoes Ibn Taymiyya's teachings.

Dr. Hussein reminds his readers that the massacre in the Baghdad church was not the first attack on Christians in Iraq, and not even the worst. He mentions the 1936 attack by the Iraqi army on the Assyrian Christians, in which at least 3,000 people were killed. He also mentions the infamous "farhoud" of 1941, a murderous attack on the Jews of Iraq in which hundreds were killed or wounded, and which eventually led to the emigration of the Iraqi Jewish community, that had predated Islam by at least 1,000 years. Dr. Hussein maintains that the terrorists, aided by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran, are seeking to empty Iraq of its Christians. [8]

In 2003, Christians constituted 3 percent of the Iraqi population (numbering 1.25-1.5 million). Since then, their numbers have continued to dwindle, and according to one Iraqi source, Christian clerics now estimate their number at no more than 400,000.[9]

The Middle East Is in Danger of Losing Its Christians

Another Iraqi commentator, 'Aziz Al-Hajj, argues that the experience of the Iraqi Christians is no different from that of other Christians in the Middle East, who all suffer blunt discrimination, aggression,  abuse of rights, and pressure to emigrate. He points out that since 2003, over 50 churches have been burned or destroyed in Iraq; a cardinal was kidnapped, three priests were murdered, and about 800 Christians have been killed.  The emigration of Christians is driven by their realization that if they stay behind, they will at best be second-class citizens. According to Al-Hajj, the number of Palestinian Christians is dwindling too: no more than 50,000 remain in the occupied territories, only 1000 of them in Gaza. Even in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, the majority of the population is now Muslim.

The Truth about Islamophobia

Al-Hajj points to the difference between the Muslims' reaction to Islamophobia and their reaction to discrimination against non-Muslims in their own countries: When a Western politician makes an Islamophobic remark, or when a Western newspaper publishes what is viewed as offensive cartoons of the Prophet, Muslims scream blue murder. Yet very few raise their voice in defense of Christian Arabs, or call for the equal treatment of Christians and other non-Muslims minorities in Muslim lands.

The article also points out that, in covering the recent Catholic Synod of Eastern Churches, the Arab press focused on one point – the Israeli occupation – but ignored others, such the Synod's call for religious freedom and equality before the law. Al-Hajj mentions that even writers in the London-based daily Al-Hayat, which is considered liberal and fair compared to many other Arab papers, have described the deteriorating status of Middle East Christians as part of an overall problem afflicting both Muslims and Christians in the region. And some writers simply describe Christians and Muslims alike as "victims of Israel."

Al-Hajj highlights the difference between the state of religious minorities in the West and in the Arab countries. In the West, he says, Muslims practice their religion in freedom, and maintain thousands of mosques. Moreover, they are free to spread their religion, and openly celebrate each new convert. In contrast, Christians in the Muslim world are arrested for allegedly trying to spread Christianity, and a Muslim who converts to Christianity may face the death penalty. In the Gulf, Christians are forced to conduct prayers clandestinely at home, in hotels, or in the homes of diplomats, and even this entails a great risk.[10]

The Emigration of Minorities as Reflecting the Intolerance of Middle East Societies

Writing in Al-Hayat, columnist Houssam Itani described the crimes committed against Iraq's Christians as part of a broader problem in Arab society, which is becoming increasingly monolithic in religion and ethnicity, destroying the last vestiges of cultural diversity.

Itani says that, if one considers Al-Qaeda's threats against the Egyptian Copts, the Islamist pressure on the Lebanese Christians to make bitter and dangerous choices, and the aggression against the Christians in Iraq, the only possible way for Christians to escape this "dark environment" is to emigrate .

Itani extrapolates from the plight of the Christians to the plight of all peoples in the region. He maintains that, as a matter of fact, the Christians face a brighter future than the Muslim majority – for the latter can expect a rapid diminishing of political, ethnic, and religious tolerance and openness to the opinion of others. The destruction of the Buddhist statutes in Bamyan, Afghanistan, is a striking example of the kind of religious and cultural intolerance that awaits them, he says.[11]

Itani points out that the emigration of Christians in recent years, and of "other minorities" who left the Middle East in the past century (the reference is most likely to Jews) has coincided with the emigration of many educated and professional Muslims – which is another indication of the rejection of pluralism in the Arab and Muslim world.[12]

Conclusion

The Iraqi Christians are in a state of panic.[18] Archbishop Shlaymon Wardani, assistant to Cardinal Dali, has expressed doubts whether Al-Qaeda alone should be held responsible for the attack on the Baghdad church, and has predicted that Christians will flee – not just to the north of the country, where Christians have historically maintained their largest community, but out of the country. He added, "Every time we find a sense of hope, worse things happen that cause us to slide into despair again."[19]

Columnist Jaber Habib Jaber wrote that the Baghdad attack was "not just another Baghdad tragedy, but a warning bell to alert us to [the campaign] brewing in the region to empty Iraq of its Christians. Such a development would mean turning Iraq into something else – religiously homogenous but with a high degree of fanaticism and readiness for more bloodshed."[20]

* Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli is a senior analyst at MEMRI. Read more at www.memri.org

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