In this mailing:
- Majid Rafizadeh: Christians
Sentenced to Death Under Sharia Law
- Raymond Ibrahim: "Genocide
against Christians"
by Majid Rafizadeh • October 14,
2018 at 6:00 am
- In response to the
latest abuses against Christians, Amnesty International has
initiated an "urgent action" appeal. It has called
on the Iranian regime to "quash the convictions and
sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Isavi, Amin
Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari, as they have been targeted
solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedoms
of religion and belief, expression, and association, through
their Christian faith." However there are far more
stories of Christian persecution throughout Iran, than just
these four.
- After significant
pressure from legal and human rights groups, the Islamist
leaders of Iran commuted Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's sentence
from death to 10 years in prison. He will have 10 years of his
life stolen from him, just because he practiced his faith.
- What is important to
note is that in countries, run by Sharia law, the constitution
becomes inferior to the Islamist laws of the land. When
radical Islam gains power, every article in the constitution
becomes contingent on compliance with sharia. The rights that
are promised in the constitution therefore become null and
void.
- It is not enough to
hope that one day Christians will be able to practice their
faith in Iran without fear of persecution or death; action
must be taken by the global community to ensure that the
Iranian regime stands by its own constitution and provides its
Christian citizens with equal rights and protections.
The Greek
Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary Tehran, Iran. (Image source:
Orijentolog/Wikimedia Commons)
Frequently, Shiite Islamic preachers and leaders can
be heard stating that Islam recognized "People of the
Book," which refers to Christians and Jews. This assertion
sounds as if Islam gives Christian and Jews the same level of
status and respect as their Muslim counterparts.
That argument was recently confirmed when the
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, claimed
that "Christians have the same rights as others do." With
that confirmation, it might be easy to assume that Christians are
relatively safe in Iran. But are they?
In speeches, and on paper, these words probably give
the impression that Christians are not only welcome in Iran, but
given equal rights and protections. However, the everyday
experiences of Christians in Iran, tell a very different story.
by Raymond Ibrahim • October 14,
2018 at 4:00 am
- Two days later,
Christian homes in the region were attacked again. "Some
Muslim villagers had a meeting in one of the mosques. They
incited people against us. After the meeting they set fire to
a wood store owned by my brother, and four other houses,"
said another Christian resident. Police responded by arresting
five Christians as they tried to put out the fire. — Egypt.
- On April 27, the
government made the death penalty "mandatory" for
anyone who blasphemes against Islam... And in the case of blasphemous
remarks or sacrilegious acts, according to the law, the death
penalty is now mandatory." — Voice of the Martyrs, Mission
Network News, Mauritania.
- A Christian nun who
was driven out of her convent in Qaraqosh, Iraq by the Islamic
State was denied a visa from the nation that provided refugee
status to tens of thousands of Muslim men. — United Kingdom.
A Muslim
migrant from Pakistan vandalized two churches in Germany, including
St. Peter's Church in Chemnitz (pictured at right), on April 23.
(Image source: (Zaufatsch/Wikimedia Commons)
Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Pakistan:
A Muslim man set a Christian woman on fire because she refused to
convert to Islam and marry him. Asma Yaqoob, 25, with burns
covering nearly 90 percent of her body, died five days later.
According to her father, his son and he were waiting for Asma, a domestic
servant, at the home of her employer, when she answered a knock on
the door. "After some time we heard her screaming in
pain," he said. They "rushed outside to see what had
happened" and saw Rizwan Gujjar, 30, a onetime family friend,
fleeing "while Asma was engulfed in flames." Three months
earlier Gujjar had begun pressuring Asma to marry him. She,
"not wanting to recant her Christian faith," politely
declined and tried to avoided him, says another report. So, on
April 17, when she answered the door, he doused her with gasoline
and set her aflame. According to her mother:
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