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In this mailing:
- Giulio Meotti: The Pope's
Stubborn Silence on the Persecution of Christians
- Uzay Bulut: The Widespread
Persecution of Converts to Christianity
- Amir Taheri: Why Tehran
Crosses Only 'Pink Lines'
by Giulio Meotti • February 3,
2019 at 5:00 am
- Unfortunately, Pope
Francis's stance on Islam seems to be coming from a fantasy
world.
- "Authentic
Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every
form of violence", the Pope claimed, not quite
accurately. It is as if all of the Pope's efforts have been
directed to exonerating Islam from any of its
responsibilities. He seems to have been doing this even more
than observant Muslims -- such as Egypt's President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi, American author and physician M. Zuhdi Jasser,
former Kuwaiti Information Minister Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf,
French-Algerian author Razika Adnani, Paris-based Tunisian
philosopher Youssef Seddik, Jordanian journalist Yosef
Alawnah, and Moroccan author Rachid Aylal, among many others
-- have been doing.
- "Pope Francis
could in no way be ignorant of the heavy problems caused by
the expansion... at the very heart of the Christian domain...
Let us note this again... the last religion that arrived in
Europe has an intrinsic impediment to integrating into the
European framework that is fundamentally
Judeo-Christian..." – Boualem Sansal, Algerian author, in
his best-selling book "2084."
- Pope Francis now
faces the potential risk of a Christian world physically
swallowed by the Muslim crescent -- as on the Vatican logo chosen
for the Pope's upcoming trip to Morocco. It is time the
appeasement is replaced.
The
persecution of Christians is now an international crisis.
Unfortunately, Pope Francis's stance on Islam seems to be coming
from a fantasy world. (Photo by Giulio Origlia/Getty Images)
4,305 Christians were killed simply because their
Christian faith in 2018. This is the dramatic number contained in
the new "World Watch List 2019" just compiled by the
non-governmental organization Open Doors. It reveals that in 2018,
there were 1,000 more Christian victims -- 25% more -- than the
year before, when there were 3,066.
These days, 245 million Christians in the world are
apparently persecuted simply for their faith. Last November, The
organization Aid to the Church in Need released its "Religious
Freedom Report" for 2018 and reached the a similar conclusion:
300 million Christians were subjected to violence. Christianity,
despite stiff competition, has been called "the most
persecuted religion in the world".
by Uzay Bulut • February 3, 2019
at 4:30 am
- "[F]or millions
of Christians -- particularly those who grew up Muslim or were
born into Muslim families -- openly following Jesus can have
painful consequences. They can be treated as second-class
citizens, discriminated against for jobs or even violently
attacked." — Open Doors, World Watch List 2019.
- "The root of
the problem is that the existence and functions of Protestants
and other non-Muslim groups are seen as a threat by the
government institutions. And therefore, it is believed that
all their activities should be banned." — 2008 Report:
"The Question of Places of Worship for the Protestant
Community of Turkey," prepared by the Legal Committee of
the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey.
- Azerbaijan,
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are all secular on
paper. Yet, "the police, secret service and local
authorities strictly monitor religious activities, with state
authorities regularly raiding non-registered churches. In
general, the Islamic culture makes life for Christian converts
particularly difficult, but indigenous Christians with a Muslim
background bear the brunt of persecution from the state and
family, friends and community." — Open Doors, World
Watch List 2019.
- "While
Christians are indeed experiencing a 'life of hell' in North
Korea, overthrowing Kim Jong-un's regime could not only lead
to a quick halt to this persecution but also to a rise of
Christianity — as has happened recently in Russia... Unlike
the persecution of Christians in Communist nations,
persecution of Christians is perennial, existential, and...
far transcends any ruler or regime. It unfortunately seems
part and parcel of the history, doctrines, and socio-political
makeup of Islam — hence its tenacity and ubiquity. It is a
'tradition.'" — Raymond Ibrahim.
According
to the human rights organization Open Doors, the number of
Christians in the world subjected to persecution -- 245 million --
is 14% higher than it was a year ago. (Image source: iStock)
According to the human rights organization Open
Doors, the number of Christians in the world subjected to
persecution -- 245 million -- is 14% higher than it was a year ago.
In its 2019 World Watch List, Open Doors reports:
"In seven out of the top 10 World Watch List
countries, the primary cause of persecution is Islamic oppression.
This means, for millions of Christians -- particularly those who
grew up Muslim or were born into Muslim families -- openly
following Jesus can have painful consequences. They can be treated
as second-class citizens, discriminated against for jobs or even
violently attacked."
The report also states that Muslim converts to
Christianity in countries governed by sharia [Islamic] law face the
most severe persecution, both by the state and by family, friends
and community. The following are examples from the report:
by Amir Taheri • February 3, 2019
at 4:00 am
- Europeans, including
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, delude themselves in
believing that by "working with Iran" they could
prevent the Islamic Republic from "crossing the red
lines."
- The problem is that
the Islamic Republic does not cross those real or imaginary
"red lines". Like the now-defunct Soviet Union in
its time, the Islamic Republic's strategy is to cross only
"pink lines". The Islamic Republic has no troops in
Yemen but manages to keep that tragedy going by helping Houthi
rebels hang on to the patch of territory they hold.
- In the EU countries,
Tehran is careful not to cross "red lines". But, it
crosses "pink lines" when it can through mosques, hussainiyahs,
religious endowments and fake charities. In Britain alone, the
Islamic Republic controls at least a dozen tax-exempt
"charities", often used for financing violent groups
across the globe or simply for money laundering.
To show
what a special place Iran's mullahs have in her heart, when in
Tehran, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini wears the full
Khomeinist hijab, but when she visits other Islamic capitals she
unleashes her peroxide blonde hair in full evidence. Pictured:
Mogherini with Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on July 28,
2015. (Image source: European Union/Flickr)
Talk to any senior European Union official and you
are sure to hear the Islamic Republic in Iran designated as "a
threat to regional stability." German Chancellor Angela Merkel
endorses Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu's assessment of Iranian
behavior as "unacceptable."
French President Emmanuel Macron insists that Iran
should carry out UN resolutions by closing its ballistic missile
project. And, yet, EU's Iran policy, assuming such a thing exists,
is plagued by contradictions.
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