Category: persecution of Christians

30Jun

“ISIS is Getting Old”

So says a colleague today while discussing the latest atrocity in Istanbul. I have gathered today for further reflection two unrelated ISIS stories–even as they lose ground in Iraq and Syria, they manage to stay in the news.

First off, our prayers are offered for the victims and loved ones who were affected by the Istanbul airport bombings. The death toll has apparently reached 42 with hundreds injured. You can read the latest at BBC.

Also in the news, an escaped ISIS sex slave testified before Congress about her plight and that of many others. CNN reports that Nadia Murad, a member of the Yaziri ethnic minority in Iraq, appeared before congressmen to describe what is going on:


Speaking about the Middle East’s Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities, she warned that “if they are not protected they will be wiped out.”

Yazidis are ethnically Kurdish members of an ancient religion who live mostly in Iraq.

Murad detailed how she and thousands of Yazidi women and girls were enslaved and raped by their ISIS captors. She recounted how six of her brothers and her mother were executed by ISIS in a single day.

…”I was freed, but I do not (have) the feeling of the freedom because those who have committed these crimes have not been held accountable,” she said.

A UN report released last week estimated that ISIS holds about 3,500 slaves and that the terror group continues to subject women and children to sexual violence, particularly in the form of sexual slavery. The report said ISIS’ actions “may, in some instances, amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.”

This Reuters artice referenced the UN report in January 2016.

29Jun

Egypt Stripped Naked

This Twitter hashtag surged in popularity last month, inspired by an ugly outpouring of rage by Muslims on Christians that took place in May in the Egyptian village of Karma. Rumors of an affair by a Christian man with a Muslim woman spawned a mob that burned and looted seven homes and dragged a naked 70 year old woman through the streets.

You can read more at The Associated Press.

28Jun

Christian Village Attacked in Lebanon

Once again we pray for our beleaguered and persecuted brethren overseas.

Eight suicide bombers launched two waves of attacks on the Christian town of Al Qaa in northeastern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least five people and raising fears that violence from the civil war in neighboring Syria will further destabilize Lebanon, its fragile neighbor.

Read it all: New York Times.

Al Jazeera Reports that the second attack took place while people were gathering for the funeral preparations following the first bombing. Two men on a motorcycle tossed a grenade at the crowd and then detonated their vests.

22Apr

Fifth Anniversary of Pakistani Martyr

Five years ago, a hail of bullets ended the life of a remarkable man in Pakistan. Shabaz Bhatti, aged 42, was a cabinet member, the only Christian elevated to such status in the Pakistani government. As minister for minorities, he spoke out against religious persecution, and particularly the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. He was prominent among the defenders of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five who was sentenced to death for blasphemy against Mohammed, and currently languishes in prison.

Prior to his death Bhatti had made a video to be released upon the occasion of his death. More on this, including the video footage, can be found in Christianity Today:

“I’m ready to die for a cause,” Bhatti said. “I’m living for my community and suffering people, and I will die to defend their rights. So these threats and these warnings cannot change my opinions and principles.”

“…I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ, who has given his own life for us. I know what is the meaning of ‘cross’ and I follow Him to the cross. Pray for me and for my life.”

As the fifth year anniversary of his martyrdom is marked, an effort is underway to elevate him to greater recognition within his own church. The Catholic Herald reports:

“He spoke with faith and demonstrated courage. Thanks to him the voice of Pakistan’s Christians was heard. He paved the way for us. He was a good Catholic and gave his life for his mission,” Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi said at a March 2 ceremony marking the anniversary of Bhatti’s death.

The Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi has begun collecting testimonies about Bhatti to enquire into his martyrdom and sanctity.

29Mar

Suicide Bombing Mars Easter in Pakistan

Around 70 people were killed and more than 341 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a park in Lahore where Christians had thronged for Easter.  A high percentage of the victims were women and children.  You can read more at CNN.

28Jan

Muslim Man who Tried to Save Christians is Dead

A Kenyan Muslim teacher who risked his life to shield Christians who were on a bus with him, has died from the gunshot wound he received.

Salah Farah was on a bus travelling through Mandera in Kenya when it was attacked by al-Shabab in December.
The attackers told the Muslims and Christians to split up but he was among Muslim passengers who refused.
A bullet hit Mr Farah and almost a month on, he died in hospital in the capital, Nairobi.

In interviews, when asked why he did this, he replied,
“people should live peacefully together”.
“We are brothers.
“It’s only the religion that is the difference, so I ask my brother Muslims to take care of the Christians so that the Christians also take care of us… and let us help one another and let us live together peacefully”.

Read more at BBC.

We laud his heroism. “Greater love hath no man than this…” (See John 15:13)

03Oct

Oregon Gunmen Targeted Christians

This is so very sad. Our condolences to these families.

A gunman singled out Christians, telling them they would see God in “one second,” during a rampage at an Oregon college Thursday that left at least nine innocent people dead and several more wounded, survivors and authorities said.

More details are available at the New York Post.

16Sep

Present and Former Archbishops of Canterbury Decry Discrimination Against Christian Refugees

Anglican leader Justin Welby, as well as Christian persecution watchdog groups, have warned that U.K. government policies on granting asylum are discriminating against Christians who are avoiding entering formal refugee camps populated by Sunni Muslims amid fears of attacks by Islamic radicals.

“As countries like the U.K. debate how to deal with the refugee crisis, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that their policy will discriminate against Christians. The policy takes those who are in camps, but many Christians fearing discriminant, violence, and intimidation have not been willing to enter formal camps that are largely populated by Sunni Muslims,” International Christian Concern said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

Read more here

Separately, Lord George Carey, a retired Archbishop of Canterbury, issued a similar statement:
But the frustration for those of us who have been calling for compassion for Syrian victims for many months is that the Christian community is yet again left at the bottom of the heap.

According to the Barnabas Fund, a charity which recently resettled some 50 Syrian Christian families in Poland, Mr Cameron’s policy inadvertently discriminates against the very Christian communities most victimised by the inhuman butchers of the so-called Islamic State. Christians are not to be found in the UN camps, because they have been attacked and targeted by Islamists and driven from them. They are seeking refuge in private homes, church buildings and with neighbours and family.

From The Telegraph.

14Sep

ISIS Destroys Another Ancient Monastery

image

This occurred a few weeks ago, in late August:

Islamic State said it bulldozed a fifth-century Assyrian Christian monastery in the southeastern Syrian town of Qaryatain as the jihadist group pressed on with efforts to wipe out traces of what it considers un-Islamic archaeological and cultural treasures.”

Islamic State’s media office distributed photographs on social media sites of what it said was the destruction on Thursday of the Mar Elian monastery. A headline on the photographs reads, “Mar Elian monastery, worshiped without God.”

A number of Christians were captured. Their fate is unknown.

Read more: Wall Street Journal

The photo is from Catholic Herald