Turkey Wipes Out the Christian Culture of Occupied Cyprus

by Uzay Bulut • November 25, 2018 at 5:30 am

"Turkey has been committing two major international crimes against Cyprus. It has invaded and divided a small, weak but modern and independent European state... Turkey has also changed the demographic character of the island and has devoted itself to the systematic destruction and obliteration of the cultural heritage of the areas under its military control." — from "The Loss of a Civilization: Destruction of cultural heritage in occupied Cyprus."
"More than 550 Greek Orthodox churches, chapels and monasteries located in towns and villages of the occupied areas, have been pillaged, deliberately vandalized and, in some cases, demolished. Many Christian places of worship have been converted into mosques, depots of the Turkish army, stockyards and hay barns." — Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"UNESCO considers the intentional destruction of cultural heritage a war crime." — Artnet News, 2017.

After Turkey invaded and occupied northern Cyprus, ancient mosaics were stolen from the Church of Panagia Kanakaria (pictured), which is located in the Turkish-occupied zone. The mosaics were later discovered in the United States and returned to Cyprus in 1989. (Image source: Julian Nitzsche/Wikimedia Commons)

A sixth-century mosaic of Saint Mark, stolen from a church after Turkey's military invaded Cyprus in 1974, was recently recovered in a Monaco apartment and returned to Cypriot officials. The ancient masterpiece was described by Arthur Brand, the Dutch investigator who located it, as "one of the last and most beautiful examples of art from the early Byzantine era."

Many other cultural Cypriot relics, from churches and other sites, were stolen from Cyprus by Turkish invaders and smuggled abroad. Some were recovered and returned in the past. In 1989, mosaics stolen from the Church of Panagia Kanakaria, discovered in the United States, were returned to Cyprus.

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"We Will Displace You"
Extremist Persecution of Christians, July 2018

by Raymond Ibrahim • November 25, 2018 at 4:30 am

There were 128 incidents of church vandalism or other anti-Christian attacks in France during the first five months of 2018, according to a Paris-based Roman Catholic non-profit organization that tracks attacks against Christians.
Zanzibar "has concealed Christian persecution for decades.... issues that the international community knows too little or nothing about....[T]he Christian body has been persecuted for so long." — Simon, pastor of a church, quoted by International Christian Concern.

On July 25, unknown criminals set fire to Saint-Pierre du Matroi Church in Orleans, France and spray-painted "Allah ou Akbar" ("Allah is greater") on it. (Image source: Peter Potrowl/Wikimedia Commons)

Extremist Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches

Egypt: Police stood by and encouraged a Muslim mob attacking a church. After local Muslims in Ezbet Sultan Pasha village learned that Christians, who form about 20% of the population, were on their way to legalizing a church building, they surrounded it on July 6, after Friday prayers. "The protesters were chanting slogans against us [Christians], such as 'We don't want a church in our village,'" said one resident. "We locked ourselves in our homes during the demonstration because we were afraid that they would attack us. Police didn't do anything to disperse the demonstrators and didn't arrest anyone of them." Demonstrations continued into the next day with no police intervention.

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