'Saudi Arabia arrests Ethiopian Christians for “mMxing With Opposite Sex”

Shame on those who allow to construct Saudi Mosques in Ethiopia!

Shame on Amnesty International, on Human Rights Watch, who are quick to help Swedish terrorist journalists, convicted in Ethiopia, but who are silent on the 42 Ethiopian Christians jailed and tortured because they are Christians.

ICC

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Ethiopian Christians who were arrested seven days ago in Saudi Arabia for holding a prayer meeting are now being charged by Saudi officials with mixing with the opposite sex. In Saudi Arabia, it is illegal for men and women (non-family) to be in the same room together.

The six men and 29 women were holding a weekly prayer meeting on December 15 when the Saudi police arrested them. Christian leaders say that the accusation of “mixing with the opposite sex” is only an excuse, and believe that the Christians were arrested for practicing their faith. The Christians have not yet been brought before any court.

“The Saudi officials are accusing the Christians of committing the crime of mixing of sexes because if they charge them with meeting for practicing Christianity, they will come under pressure from the international human rights organizations as well as Western countries. In fact, when an employer of one of the detainees asked for the reason for their employee’s arrest, the Saudi official told him that it was for practicing Christianity,” said a church leader from Saudi Arabia in an interview with ICC.

Asked what Christians around the world could do, another Saudi church leader said, “I ask people who belong to the kingdom of God to show their solidarity with the detained Christians by speaking on their behalf and asking government officials for their release.”

ICC’s Jonathan Racho said, “The freedom of religion, including the freedom to assemble together to worship, is a basic right recognized under international human rights law. It is ironic that Saudi Arabia, the country which engages in construction of mosques around the world, clamps down on Christians who worship in their private homes. We urge the media, international human rights bodies and others to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and condemn its actions.” 

 

42 Ethiopian Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia

 

ICC

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi security forces arrested 42 Ethiopian Christians at a prayer gathering in Jeddah on Thursday. The location of the detained Christians is unknown.

On December 15, Saudi police and security officers raided an evening prayer meeting at the home of an Ethiopian Christian in the Al-Safa district of Jeddah. Those attending the service were reportedly beaten and threatened before being arrested.

"Security officials broke [into] the house and captured, beat and threatened them for death. They divided the men and the women and they are torturing them [in prison]," an Ethiopian and Eritrean Christian immigrant community living in Europe wrote in a desperate appeal for help to the ambassadors of European embassies in Riyadh on Friday.

"Saudi Arabian officials have arrested Christians in the past but it is unprecedented for them to arrest 42 Christians at one time," a church leader in Jeddah, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told ICC. "We are particularly concerned about the children of the detained Christians."

Two Ethiopian fellowships in Saudi Arabia informed ICC that they will temporarily postpone services until the situation calms. Christians in Saudi Arabia, most of who enter the country as foreign workers, are not allowed to practice their faith openly. Saudi police have been known to raid private worship gatherings in homes, arrest and deport congregants, and confiscate Christian materials, including Bibles.

Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, "Though not permitting a single church building where Christians can worship in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government goes even further to assault the religious freedoms of its citizens and foreign workers by hunting for and arresting Christians who attend services in the privacy of their own homes. As a signatory to the UN Convention against Torture, we urge Saudi Arabia to end the abuse that the Ethiopian Christians have reportedly suffered in prison and to ensure their immediate release."

Egypt’s Christians deserve a democratic future too

The measure of a true democracy is not just how well it represents the will of the majority, but also by how effectively it safeguards the fundamental rights of minorities within the population. 
 
On the evidence of the past nine months, Egypt has been on course to fail this test with dangerous consequences. Some nine million of Egypt’s citizens, over 10 per cent of the population, are Christians. For them, the "Egyptian Spring" that began in February has not brought tangible benefits; if anything their situation, already severe before the revolution, has worsened.

Under President Hosni Mubarak, Christians suffered significant discrimination at both the state and the extra-judicial level. The right to build a church was dependent upon presidential decree; Muslim converts to Christianity found it impossible to obtain ID reflecting the fact; and discrimination against Christians in the public sphere was endemic. 
 
Unsurprisingly, Egypt’s Christians played a full and active role in the February revolution that forced President Mubarak from power. Amongst other notable acts, Christians established a field hospital to treat the wounded in Tahrir square and numerous images showed Muslims and Christians holding hands whilst chanting a common refrain of the revolution, “Muslims, Christians, we are all Egyptians”.

In spite of this, however, the solidarity of Egypt’s Christians with their fellow citizens has not been rewarded. Sources inside the country report that discrimination against Christian children, often by their own teachers, carries on unchecked. Getting a good job as a Christian in the workplace is still as hard as ever. It remains impossible to build a church legally, and converts to Christianity still cannot obtain legal recognition of that fact.

And this is not the end of the story. So high is anti-Christian feeling running in the new Egypt that twice in the past six months, clashes have taken place which have left scores of Christians dead. Worse is the fact that this violence is not merely sectarianism gone mad, still less the subversive influence of "foreign agents", as the authorities in Egypt so frequently claim. There is very good evidence to suggest that state security forces have not just been negligent in their handling of Christian protests, but have actually been engaged in bloodletting themselves. Unlike with the most recent round of Egyptian protests, however, this violence elicited no apology from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), still less any promises to reform.

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Egypt’s massacre of Christians

Western media coverage of the recent massacre of Coptic Christians in Cairo, Egypt—in which the military killed dozens of Christians and injured some 300—was, as discussed earlier, deplorable. It merely repeated the false propaganda of the complicit state-run media, without checking facts. Since then, further proofs of the lies and brutality surrounding the massacre have emerged; they are compiled in the following report which consists of facts and videos from Arabic sources—many of which have not appeared in the Western media.

This report documents: 1) the activities of the Supreme Military Council of Egypt and de facto ruler; 2) the lies and duplicitous tactics of both the Military Council and its media mouthpiece, Egyptian TV; and 3) the anti-Christian sentiment pervading all aspects of this incident.


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Muslim Attack on Christians in Egypt Provoked By Installation of Church Bell

AINA

An exchange of harsh words on July 25 between Ruth, a Christian woman, and Gassem Fouad, a Muslim man who had parked his tricycle in front of her home, escalated into assault by the man on Ruth and other Christian villagers, and the arrest of one Copt. After Ruth, who is 5 months pregnant, was assaulted, a Muslim mob waited for Coptic farmers to return from the fields, where they were intercepted and beaten with iron rods and pipes.

Security forces managed to contain the situation.

Six Christians, including Ruth and her sister-in-law Hannan, were hospitalized with concussions, head injuries and broken limbs. No Muslim was injured.

None of the Muslim perpetrators was arrested. Ruth's husband, Kirillos Daniel, was accused of possessing a weapon -- a rifle found thrown where the Christians were attacked, and is under detention.

In an interview on CTV Coptic TV, Father Estephanos Shehata, of the Samalout Coptic dioceses, said "The real reason behind this assault was the church bell, which has greatly angered the Muslims in the village." He said the dilapidated church in the village of Ezbet Jacob Bebawi, outside Samalout, north of Minya, was given permission to renovate and this was completed last week, and the church bell was reinstalled.

"This is the first time such an incident has taken place in this village," said Father Estephanos, "which is 60-75% Christian, and the reason is definitely the presence of the church bell."

Christian villagers believe this assault was premeditated and they fear their church faces imminent attack, especially since Muslims have been slowly congregating in the village, which has a very weak presence of security forces.

Riyadh deports a pastor to Eritrea

ASIANEWS

Eyob Mussie, an Eritrean refugee, was arrested on 12 February in Jeddah on charges of Christian proselytising. A court had decided to repatriate him forcibly. An appeal has been made to find a third country for the clergyman.

Mussie was arrested on 12 February in front of a mosque in Jeddah, the kingdom’s second largest city. He had gone there to talk to Muslims about Christianity. He was charged with proselytising, which in Saudi Arabia can

Saudi authorities initially viewed Eyob as a mental case. A medical test found instead that he was fit to stand trial. He was eventually moved to Briman Prison, a high security prison. However, instead of sentencing to death, the authorities decided to send him back to Eritrea.

In Eritrea, some 3,000 Christians are currently in prison without charges. Some have been held in isolation for years.

The probability that Eyob Mussie would receive the same treatment, including the possibility of the death penalty is very high.

For this motive, Andrew Johnston, director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, appealed to the Saudi government to “consider alternative countries of asylum” for the clergyman.

Egypt: ‘virginity checks’ of female protestors causes outrage

CNN

Revelations that the Egyptian army administered “virginity checks” on detained female protestors have triggered outrage since a senior general admitted the procedure in a televised interview.

Allegations of "virginity tests" first surfaced in a report by Amnesty International about a protest on March 9 in Tahrir Square in which it said 17 female demonstrators were tortured, given electric shocks and forced to submit to virginity checks.

Egyptian authorities denied the allegations but a senior general on Monday admitted to the virginity checks, according to CNN.
"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine," he said. "These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."

He said the virginity checks were conducted to prevent women from later charging authorities with sexual assault.

"We didn’t want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren’t virgins in the first place. None of them were (virgins)," he told CNN.

The general’s views caused immediate outrage and social media feeds erupted with anger and disgust.

The Egyptian army was heralded for its role in the January uprising that saw the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

At least 846 protesters were killed, and thousands injured during the 18-day uprising, according to a government fact-finding mission.

Mr. Mubarak and his former aides are facing trial on charges of corruption, misappropriation of public funds and also ordering violence on the protestors.

But the army’s popularity was soon tested at a protest in March, organized to voice frustration over the slow pace of reform, which saw the military target the protestors—clearing Tahrir Square of demonstrators by force.

The Amnesty International report quoted detained protestors, which is where allegations of virginity tests first surfaced.

One 20-year-old hairdresser who was quoted in the report spoke of being tied up by soldiers who slapped her, shocked her with a stun gun while calling her a prostitute, according to the CNN report.

"They wanted to teach us a lesson," she said soon after the Amnesty report came out. "They wanted to make us feel that we do not have dignity."

She said the treatment she and 16 other demonstrators faced at a detention center in Heikstep only worsened: the women were strip searched in the presence of male soldiers and it was here they were all subjected to virginity tests.

"We did not agree for a male doctor to perform the test," she said but she and her colleagues were threatened with stun-gun shocks if they did not comply.

"I was going through a nervous breakdown at that moment. There was no one standing during the test, except for a woman and the male doctor. But several soldiers were standing behind us watching the backside of the bed. I think they had them standing there as witnesses," CNN quotes her as saying.

According to the senior general, 149 detainees were tried in military courts after the March 9 protest and most were sentenced to a year in prison, but the many had their sentences revoked, said CNN.

"When we discovered that some of the detainees had university degrees, so we decided to give them a second chance," he told CNN.

Egypt is scheduled to hold elections by September.

Some political groups are calling on the ruling council to delay the elections saying that a September date does not give them time to prepare for the polls and that the date favors the Muslim Brotherhood which is well-organized.

But the army has reiterated that it plans to hand over power to the civilians and return to the barracks

Christianity: Growing, and under siege

Around the world, and especially in Africa and Asia, Christian populations are suffering severe discrimination and brutal attacks. Thousands are being killed. Systematic campaigns are being waged against Christians simply because of their faith, and it is not too dramatic to suggest that these are forms of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Yet there is little awareness of these continuing atrocities in the West, and even less response.

Christianity is no longer a predominantly Western religion. Since 1900, there has been a startling growth of Christianity in Latin America, Africa and Asia, to the point that now, 65 percent of the world's 2 billion Christians live on one of those three continents. Christians now constitute the largest single religious group in Africa. Close to 350 million Christians live in Asia. But this dramatic growth has also fanned the flames of religious persecution and hatred against them.

In northern Nigeria, deadly religious violence occurs with regularity, killing hundreds at a time. Christians in Ethiopia have seen the destruction of 57 churches; thousands of Christians have been displaced, and some have been killed. In Sudan, the government has waged a decades-old war against Christians in southern part of the country. In Egypt, radicals now use the façade of democratic reforms to ramp up their continuing war against Coptic Christians, while the army looks the other way. Christians have lived in Iraq for 1,800 years, but recent violence threatens their very existence as a community. In Pakistan, religious violence and anti-blasphemy laws are used to suppress Christians, while prominent Christian politicians and their defenders are assassinated. In India, religious radicals attack Christian converts, while courts and political assemblies take away their rights. Religious violence against Christians occurs with depressing regularity in Indonesia, while the Chinese government cracks down on Christian churches, especially those that have chosen not to register with the communist government. In many countries around the world, anti-Christian activists have hijacked political processes to codify severe discrimination against Christians, making it illegal to convert to Christianity, while encouraging conversions from Christianity.

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The 'Arab Spring' has brought the dark days of winter to Christians

ISRAELTODAY

The last few months have seen an historical earthquake, or volcano if you will, in the Middle East. Islamic countries, some with sizeable Christian minorities are witnessing revolutions which on the surface seem to display a desire by the peoples of the these countries for genuine democracy, something only to be found outside of the Middle East, except for Israel.

The story begins with an economic trigger of $147 a barrel for oil in 2008, leading to the near collapse of the world economy. With this near collapse of the world economy, the barrel of oil dropped back to $30, even if for only a few days, and then slowly began to climb back, hovering now around the $100 dollar mark.

Whether or not the world economy recovers or not, we all know that food prices have gone through the roof as a result of this greed. Higher oil prices mean higher food prices. Food prices will continue to spiral upwards and starvation will increase in many more places.

When a Tunisian fruit and vegetable vendor self-immolated himself after a humiliating arrest that included being slapped in the face by a female officer and having his produce confiscated, ostensibly for not having a license (or paying a bribe), the word got out quickly thanks to mass online media like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and massive riots ensued. The corruption, the lack of employment, the lack of freedom and democracy led these people in the Middle East to want and demand more, primarily what is to be found in the West where there is work, democracy and food.

These revolutions spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and other countries, and threaten to spread elsewhere as well, such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and perhaps even Iran.

The Egyptian Revolution is a case in point. Christians and Moslems demonstrated together in Tahrir Square and other places calling for the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in hope of a better future. The Mubarak regime suffered from the same corruption and elitist domination of the economy by certain chosen groups. US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the “democratic revolution” in Egypt as they are now doing in Libya.

When the US Administration was warned of the dangers of the Moslem Brotherhood, Secretary Clinton’s response was: “They are only a 30% minority.”

The problem is that throughout the Middle East, the governments are usually controlled by the minority, not the majority. By the way, Hitler came to power in Germany in January of 1933 with only 30% of the German democratic vote. Khomeini in Iran came to power in 1979 leading a wall-to-wall coalition of democratic forces, but in the end it was his fanatic group of fundamentalist Shi’ites that eliminated all the other groups leaving only Khomeini’s group in power.

So today, the Egyptian Army in partnership with the Moslem Brotherhood are now the ruling forces. And there should be no doubt that the agenda in Egypt has never been for democracy, nor is it now. On the contrary, the Islamic motto is: We kill the Jews on Saturday, and we kill the Christians on Sunday.

Now that there are no more Jews in Egypt (Saturday people), the Moslems say: “We will go for the Sunday people” (the Christians).

There is no doubt that the condition of the Coptic Egyptian minority is indeed dire. Woman are being kidnapped, raped and forced to marry Moslem men who can anyway have multiple wives. When Christians protest about this, the Moslems riot and kill the Christians. Churches are being burned down and Christians gunned down. My fear is that the Egyptian Coptic community faces imminent and massive ethnic cleansing if not outright Holocaust at the hands of the Moslems.

When the Egyptian Christian community is terminated, the economy will completely collapse and Egypt will become a desolation with tens of millions of Egyptian Christians and Moslems fleeing to the West were the grass is greener and there is food, employment and freedom, at least for now.

In Syria, another country ruled by a minority, this time a pro-Iranian 10% Alawite minority, another volcano is about to explode.

The Sunni population of 80% is seeking “democracy” or rule of the majority of the people. The Christian population is about 10%, and until now has been protected by the Alawites. But if Bashar Assad and his regime fall from power, the Sunnis, led by the same Moslem Brotherhood as in Egypt, will decimate both the Alawites and the Christians, thus terminating the Christian presence in Syria, and by extension the Christians in Lebanon as well.

We already have seen how the Sunni/Shi’ite struggle in Iraq killed Christians and forced them to flee to Syria. Now this is about to happen in Syria and, by extension, in Lebanon.

Unfortunately, the Christian world in the West is silent about this as are most of the churches and denominational leadership. No one in the Christian world is saying or doing anything about the slaughter of Christians in Africa. And, of course, as the fundamentalist Moslem Brotherhood takes over in Egypt and Syria as it already has in Turkey and Gaza, I believe we are witnessing the creation of a Sunni Caliphate that will soon be surrounding Israel as well.

Could this be a Gog and Magog scenario in the making? Will the world do anything about the Christians of Egypt and Syria? Will the world do anything to stand by Israel at that time?

It is time for Jews and Christians to awaken and unite in an alliance for the defense of Christians, Jews, and all of Western Civilization threatened by this rising tide of Sunni Moslem Brotherhood fundamentalism.

Experts warn of rising violence against Christians in Egypt

CHRISTIANSOLIDARITYWORLDWIDE

A group of experts, advocates and faith leaders with an interest in Egypt, religious freedom and human rights have released a statement expressing concern at the increasing frequency of attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt, and the manner in which such attacks are being reported by international and local media.
 
At least 60 people were injured on 14 May 2011, when Christians protesting outside Egypt’s state television building in Cairo at the attacks on two churches on the previous weekend that left 12 dead were themselves attacked.

According to media reports, around 100 people attacked the protesters with stones and petrol bombs, and at least two people sustained gunshot wounds. Fighting continued for several hours before the army moved to restore order.
 
The letter states: “The collapse of the powerful state apparatus and the subsequent power vacuum this created, however, quickly opened a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of social problems that the Mubarak regime had either maintained or failed to address. As anticipated, we are now witnessing political struggles for power and influence in the new Egypt.

“While most of this is a necessary part of the emergence of true democracy in Egypt, the increase in and intensity of attacks on Christians are indicators of imminent civil unrest and the potential for widespread ethno-religious violence that demands an immediate response.”
 
The letter highlights the established pattern of the attacks and the lack of action from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. It continues: “Yet far from upholding the revolutionary spirit of unity we witnessed in January and February, the Armed Forces not only fail to provide adequate protection, but also continue to follow the policy of Mubarak’s regime by failing to uphold justice or arrest the real culprits, and by forcing reconciliation meetings on the victims that favor their attackers.”
 
With regards to the inaccurate reporting of the attacks on Christians by both local and international media, the letter states:  “Both local and international media reporting of the attacks have been deeply problematic. Mainstream Egyptian media describes such incidents as communal clashes, with at times, inaccurate reports that they are incited by Coptic Christians. Some Islamic media uses harsher and more dangerous tone, with frequent calls to “punish” and ostracise the 10 million strong Coptic community.
 
“The international media is reporting the attacks as ‘sectarian clashes’. However, these events are not clashes between two sects, such as Sunni and Shiite clashes in Iraq; they constitute a disturbing pattern of escalating attacks and violence against a minority community.

“Erroneous wording in media reports enable radical groups to continue their aggression, and the Egyptian authorities to remain oblivious and insensitive towards a vulnerable minority.”

Copts demand return of missing Christian girls

ALMASRYALYOUM

Dozens of Copts staged a protest on Thursday in front of Egypt’s High Court, demanding the return of a number of Christian girls they describe as “disappeared".

A number of Coptic lawyers have submitted a report to the attorney general requesting that the minister of interior, Mansour al-Essawy, establish the location of eleven Christian girls who they say have disappeared since the 25 January revolution.

Demonstrators, including the families of the missing girls, also demanded that the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, help locate the girls.

A statement by a Coptic group called the Maspero Youth Union denounced the “kidnapping" of Christian girls, giving the names of some of the lost females.

According to the statement, they include Heba Iskandar, who disappeared from Maadi along with her children, Heba Adel, who has been lost since 6 April after driving her son to school, and Maryam George Boqtor, who was lost with her children while buying them clothes before Easter celebrations.

Feuds have been raging between Egypt’s Muslims and Copts over the past few years concerning converts on both sides, with each camp accusing the other of forcing people, particularly females, to change their faith.

The latest case of this type was that of Kamilia Shehata, the wife of a priest in Minya, Upper Egypt, whose disappearance in July 2010 enraged the Coptic community. Many Copts believe that she was kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.

Many Muslims, meanwhile, believe that Shehata is now being held against her will by the Coptic Church as a punishment for converting, and have staged several protests demanding her release.

Persecution of Christianity in Islam and the old world

THENEWAMERICAN

Ann Coulter once wrote that the cure for Islamic terrorism was Christianity. This politically incorrect statement drew condemnation from many corners of established elitism. Forcible conversion to Christianity, of course, is not real conversion and it is certain that Ann did not sincerely intend such deeds. But there is another aspect to the modern situation of Christians (and also of Jews) that we need to grasp in order to understand the hellishness of much of the life of mankind: Christianity is under violent, bigoted attack throughout much of the world.

As one example, tens of thousands of Muslims in Egypt began angry demonstrations against the appointment of Coptic Christian Emad Mikhail to be the new governor of the southern Egyptian province of Qena, replacing a Muslim who held that office. The Friday protests coincided with the Muslim and Jewish Sabbath and with Good Friday, among the most sacred days of devout Christians. The religious nature of these demonstrations was obvious. The protesters began their demonstrations after leaving mosques.Their demand was to replace Mikhail with a Muslim governor. Islam, these protesters believe, does not allow an infidel to govern Muslims.

Some Coptic Christians were also troubled by the appointment, citing that Christian officers often failed to genuinely protect the interests of other Christians. Coptic Christians need real protection. Although they comprise about 10 percent of Egypt’s 80 million people, their status has never been secure, and relations cooled significantly when a suicide bomber killed himself — and 21 Christians — on January 1, outside a church in Alexandria.

The fate of Christians and Jews around the world is a legitimate concern for Americans. Our nation was founded quite straightforwardly upon Judeo-Christian theology and values. The pursuit of a U.S. foreign policy designed to take into consideration the interests of both Jews and Christians has been a consistent theme of our nation. Both peoples came to America, in many cases, to live freely and without persecution.

Tragically, the fate of Christians around the world has stopped being a factor in our policies. The invasion of Iraq, for example, has resulted in a significant increase in the persecution of Christians and their massive migration out of Iraq. Iraqi Christians are actually worse off as a result of our intervention there. Whatever syrupy hopes globalists might profess for “democratic” Iraq, it is impossible to see that land of ancient rivalries and hatreds evolving into a free and righteous nation when those very people who have created the notion of human freedom, Christians and also Jews, have fled the land.

Persecution of Christians, in fact, has been the salient feature of nearly every odious totalitarianism of modern history. The persecution of Christians in imperial Japan was noted even by agnostic Americans who viewed the Christian faith as foolish. The persecution of Christians in Nazi Germany was noted by nearly everyone who wrote on the subject during the years before the defeat of Germany. Hitler and all the other leaders of the Third Reich professed utter contempt for Christianity, and the closing of churches and monasteries, the hauling of priests and ministers to concentration camps, and other vile mistreatment was once common knowledge.

Soviets, of course, reviled Christianity and put true Christians in the Gulag. The OGPU and its successors also infiltrated seminaries and placed agents within the Russian Orthodox Church (just as the Soviet Union used such sweet-sounding groups as the National Council of Churches as a front organization which always, conveniently, found America and its values “un-Christian” and Marxism to be some sort of rudimentary Christian faith). Men such as John Hadam captured the spirit of this age well when he wrote in 1941 (before Barbarossa) in his book God and the World at War: “For people after people the light of freedom has gone out at the bidding of the totalitarianisms of Russia, Japan, Germany and Italy … Men are tortured and slaughtered in the name of a new religion of the all-powerful state … The attack of all totalitarianisms on religion is significant … the real basis for their hostility is that … a church is witness to, and claims the loyalty of men to, a moral power beyond and greater than the ideal totalitarian state.”

The brutal murder by Chinese Communists of Christians such as John Birch are proof of how mendacious and hateful toward Christians they were at the end of the Second World War, when Christians had been helping them defeat the Japanese. Nothing out of Chinese government policy since then gives any hope of change. The persecution of the faithful in China may take different forms and be muddled by a statist church which is the mockery of true Christianity, but the roots of persecution are ever present.

Less noticed, but very real, is the venom which Brahmanism spits at Christianity. Mahatma Gandhi, who was intensely disliked by the “untouchables” of India, found the universal brotherhood which Christianity offered to be contrary to Indian values. Contrary to much common belief, Gandhi did not reject the caste system, but believed that it should be simplified and reformed. While Christian missionaries in India helped end the suttee, child marriage (and young girls forced to bear children), thugee, and other vices of Hinduism, Gandhi displayed an appalling lack of gratitude toward the British and the West. Today, the persecution of Christians in India is very real. The conversion of untouchables (now called “Dalits”) is a particular sore point, and those Dalits who renounce Hinduism are denied government benefits provided to other Dalits.

And, of course, Europe is receding into the darkness of paganism. The shocking lack of resistance to Muslim infiltration in much of western Europe is because the thin gruel of progressive secularism offers nothing tangible to resist Islam. The searching of the soul for meaning, an itch placed there by our Creator, will find something to scratch it with — that is certain.

So it was that many former Communists spoke of their former “ideology” as rather an intolerant religion and described Marxism as “The God That Failed.” The savage Shinto of imperial Japan, the radical Muslims of the Indian Ocean basin, the brutal pagans of Nazi Germany — all the ugly spirits which menace our world — are opposed by people such as Mother Teresa, who came into India bringing only God’s compassionate love, and David Livingston, who entered the unknown heartland of an uncivilized continent to bring that same love.

Do we yearn for that overworked desideratum, “world peace”? Then we should all tell the aching hearts and angry minds of Muslims in Egypt or Hindus in India and of Marxists everywhere that the answer they seek is not in any hateful ideology, but rather in a glorious theology.

Ethiopia: persecution escalates in Muslim areas

CONTINENTALNEWS

The simplistic portrayals of Ethiopia as 'Orthodox Christian' or 'a Christian island surrounded by hostile Muslim neighbours' are misleading. These descriptions ignore the reality that Ethiopia is the legacy of a Christian empire that incorporated many diverse peoples. The Tigray-dominated north and the Amhara-dominated central highlands comprise the Christian heartland. These two Semitic tribes together comprise 45 percent of the population and most of the elite. The periphery is highly diverse and includes many animist and Muslim peoples. Unity is fragile and divisive forces are strong.

Before the Communist Revolution of 1974, Ethiopia was an Amhara-dominated kingdom. After Mengistu's Marxist regime fell in 1991, the new Tigray-led government federalised the state, controversially devolving power to nine autonomous, ethnic regions (just as Tito did in Yugoslavia and as has recently been done in Kenya). By enabling a degree of self-determination, ethnic federalism was supposed to prevent Amhara domination, end cultural conflict and diminish centrifulgal forces. In reality (as in Yugoslavia) it has had the opposite effect: it has weakened the state while magnifying ethnic differences and interests. The largest ethnic group, the Omoro (about equal Muslim / Christian), complain of Tigrayan domination and want to secede. In September 2009 the International Crisis Group lamented that the international community was neglecting 'the increased ethnic awareness and tensions created by the regionalisation policy and their potentially explosive consequences'.

Ethiopia's Constitution (adopted in December 1994) states: 'The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Any law, customary practice or a decision of an organ of state or a public official which contravenes this Constitution shall be of no effect' (Article 9.1). Complicating ethnic tensions is the trend of rising Islamic intolerance. According to the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, Saudi-funded entities are exacerbating tensions between traditional Sufis and new Wahhabis, as well as between Muslims and Christians. In recent years Christians living in Muslim-dominated areas have been subjected to escalating persecution and application of Sharia law. To maintain 'harmony' and to appease restive Muslims, the Federal Government made religious incitement and religious defamation criminal offences in 2008. While Article 27 of the Federal Constitution guarantees 'Freedom of Religion, Belief and Opinion' it also provides that religious freedom may be limited by law in the interests of public safety.

In August 2010 Tamirat Woldegorgis (early 30s and father of two), a Protestant Christian in Ethiopia's southern town of Moyale, Oromia region, was arrested after a Muslim co-worker accused him of inscribing 'Jesus is Lord' on a cloth. The accuser changed his statement several times before the local imam testified that Woldegorgis had written the offensive words on a Quran. Despite the absence of evidence, Woldegorgis was sentenced on 18 November 2010 to three years in prison for allegedly defiling a Quran. He was then transferred to Jijiga Prison in Ethiopia's Somali Region Zone Five which is governed according to Sharia. Consequently his life is greatly imperilled. Two friends who recently brought him food were fined for supporting a criminal imprisoned for defaming Islam. Authorities have reportedly offered to release Woldegorgis if he will convert to Islam (Compass Direct News, 29 November 2010).

International Christian Concern (ICC) has reported several violent attacks on Christian leaders in recent months. Of great concern is the report that harassed and persecuted Christians in the southern city of Besheno, Oromia region, have recently had notices posted on their doors warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city or face death. According to ICC, three leading Christians from an evangelical Christian community of about 30 believers have been forced to flee and two have been forcibly converted to Islam.

Intolerant, repressive, fundamentalist Islam is spreading, exerting itself and testing the limits in Ethiopia's autonomous ethnic regions. Are minority Christian groups in restive Muslim-dominated areas going to be protected according to the Federal Constitution, or will they be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, stripped of their constitutional rights and handed over to the dictators of Islam in exchange for promises of 'harmony' and national unity?

Egyptian police clash with Coptic protesters

Al-MASRY Al-YOUM (Egypt)

Egyptian police on Tuesday fired tear gas to disperse Coptic Christian demonstrators protesting the killing of a 71-year-old Coptic man by a gunman who boarded a train in Upper Egypt and opened fire on Christian commuters, eyewitness said.

A Muslim policeman began shooting passengers aboard a Cairo-Aswan train as it entered Minya's Samalut Train Station en route to the capital, killing Fathi Ghattas and injuring five other Christians. A Samalut Train Station official said the incident occurred at 5:35 PM.

Eyewitnesses told Al-Masry Al-Youm that angry Christian protesters had hurled stones at security forces stationed outside Salamut's Good Shepherd Hospital, where injured victims are currently being treated. Some of the tear gas fired by police wafted into the hospital, eyewitnesses said.

Several local Coptic clergymen attempted to calm angry protesters in an effort to avert further escalation.

Hospital Director Mariam Salah said hospital officials had admitted five people suffering injuries.

Online petition for the Christians of Egypt

A letter to the World Leaders. Please sign and help us get 500 thousand more signatures. After we achieve a large number of signatures, the letter will be printed with all signatures and sent to each Effective Leader in the Western World. For example, in Canada, it will be addressed to the Prime Minister, in the U.S . to the President Obama and Congressional leaders and it will be hand delivered by one of our representatives.

For: The Blood of the Christians of Egypt (the Copts)
To: The International Community, The U.N. Seceratary General, World Leaders

For 27 years, the current regime has used religion to further its grip on power. As puppeteers, our government is pining Muslims (85% of the population) against Christians. While talented and educated, Christians and Muslims have not been able to realize their full potential. As a result, recent years have witnessed radical islamic movements escalate the tension, to the point of calling for “Jihad” against non-Muslims in the world in general (recall the 911 attacks on US soil), and against Christians in Egypt.

The recent heinous attacks on the churches in Iraq (57 dead), Naga-Hammadi (7 dead), and Alexandria (23 dead), just to mention a few, are undeniable facts that radical Islamic militants are on the rise and corrupt regime give them breeding ground.

We are now standing together, shoulder to shoulder, Muslims and Christians alike, and ask for your help. We are asking that the International Community, the U.N, the U.S. Congress, the European Union, and all other freedom loving nations exert pressure on the Egyptian President Mubarak to take the following actions:

1- Allow for an investigation that is monitored by an international organization of the Alexandria Church attack to find out who the actual perpetrators are, and bring them to justice. Please note that immediately after the attack, and without any fact gathering efforts, members of the Egyptian government pointed fingers to ‘foreign elements’.

2- The immediate arrest and trial of Mohamed Salim El Awaa who has been documented to propagate and incite hatred and violence all over Egyptian media which resulted in the latest attacks on Coptic Churches.

3- The immediate firing of the Minister of Interior who not only failed to protect Christians, but also is responsible for the killing of two protestors in Al Umraniah three weeks prior. Under his watch security forces have beaten protesters, attacked and assaulted women, and rigged elections.

4- The passing of, and without delay, the “Unified Law for Building Places of Worship” so Christians can build badly needed places of worship.

5- The immediate arrest and trial of those security forces responsible for the killing of Copts in Al Umraniah, as well as those responsible for the killing of Copts in Naga-Hammadi, El Kosheh, Abu Kurkas and many other areas where Christians fell victims to religious violence.

6- The passing of, and without delay, the “Anti Discrimination Law” and making it a crime to discriminate based on religion, color, gender, race/ethnicity, national origin, disability, or age.

7- Changing the elections laws so that parliamentary elections are ran by ‘A List’ rather than the current system to allow all Egyptians to have representations of their parliament, instead of the current one party system.

8- Modifying all public education material including the removal of all mandated Islamic texts for non-Muslims, and religious hatred and incitement against Christians, Jews, Bahaiis, or any other sects, and replacing this material with topics that teach children the values of democracy, human rights, religious freedom, openness, and diversity.

9- In accordance to the constitution the above will not be possible to enforce in the Egyptian courts without, modifying the second article of the Egyptian constitution which contradicts the civil liberty and rights of all non-Muslims in Egypt.

In short we are asking for basic human rights, equality, and prosperity for all Egyptians living side by side in a democratic and free country. We are confident that if Egypt becomes a democratic and fair country, the entire world will benefit from what the Egyptians can offer.


Click here to sign the petition

Worst persecutors of Christians 2011

International Christian Concern (ICC) has released its annual Hall of Shame report, a list of the globe’s worst persecutors of Christians in 2010.

Islamic fundamentalism has replaced Communism as today’s number one persecutor of Christians. Iraq and Egypt have been added to the list this year due to a substantial increase in anti-Christian violence. One of 2010’s worst attacks occurred in a Baghdad church on October 31 and left more than 50 worshippers dead. The next day, Al-Qaeda declared Christians throughout the Middle East as legitimate targets for the Mujahedin, or Holy Warriors. Since the declaration, Christians have been murdered almost weekly and thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled their homes, adding to the largest exodus of Christians in modern history.

Egypt, more than any country outside of Iraq, has suffered the most from the Al-Qaeda threat. Religious tensions were inflamed early this year when six Coptic Christians in Naga Hammadi were shot dead in January. Anti-Christian demonstrations – inflamed by Muslim propaganda – followed. On November 24th, Egyptian security opened fire with live ammunition on Christian protestors in Giza, killing two people. The attacks on Copts have continued into the new year. On January 1, a suicide bomber murdered 21 Christians outside a church in Alexandria.

The other countries ranked in this year’s report remain on the top persecutor list from last year, having made little to no progress in religious freedom. They include North Korea, Eritrea, Pakistan, Iran, Somalia, India, Vietnam, Nigeria and China.

Jeff King, ICC’s president, said, "In compiling the report, it was striking to see the rate at which Christian persecution has accelerated around the globe, especially in the Islamic world. Anti-Christian hatred arising from Islam has flowed into 2011, as seen in the horrific attacks in Egypt, Pakistan and Iraq already this year. Constant vigilance is needed in the struggle to defend the fundamental human right of religious freedom. Those of us fortunate to live in countries that grant religious freedom must not forget nor neglect the plight of Christians who are condemned by extremist ideology or government tyranny to suffer – or die – for their faith."

Countries to watch:

1.Iraq Iran
2.Egypt
3.Nigeria
4.Eritrea
5.Somalia
6.India
7.Pakistan
8.North Korea
9.China
10.Vietnam


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Islamic Militants Destroy underground Christian library in Somalia

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on December 16, members of Al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group, destroyed a Christian library in the Luuq district of Somalia.

The militants destroyed the library and brought Bibles, Christian books, and audio/video materials to the city center and burned them after the Muslim noon prayer. The guardian of the library fled the area hours after the library was found by the Islamists. His whereabouts are unknown.

Al-Shabaab’s district commissioner in Luuq, Sheik Farhaan Abdi Elmoghe, described the discovery of the library as "a blow to the misguided Somali Christians."

The library was located in a derelict farm on the Juba River. It is not uncommon for the persecuted Somali Christians to literally bury their Bibles and other Christian materials because of intense persecution from Islamists.

Speaking from Mogadishu to ICC, a leader of an underground church said, "The library served as an underground Somali Bible college, [and it’s] one of the biggest and the most comprehensive Somali Christian libraries in southern Somalia." He further added that the destruction of the library would not stop the Somali Christians from studying the scriptures.

Al-Shabaab has openly declared that it wants to wipe out Christianity from Somalia. This year alone, the Islamists have killed at least half a dozen Somali Christians. Despite the attacks by Islamists, the number of Somali Muslims converting to Christianity has grown in the past 15 years.

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, "Christians in Somalia are paying the ultimate price for their faith in Jesus Christ. It’s high time for the churches throughout the world to stand with the underground churches of Somalia. Unfortunately, the world has ignored the atrocities that Al-Shabaab has been committing against innocents in Somalia."

'Coptic Blood is Not Cheap' Says Egyptian Coptic Pope

During his weekly sermon on Wednesday November 8 at St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, Coptic Pope Shenouda III said "Coptic Blood is not Cheap," referring to the Coptic young men killed after security forces opened fire on them on November 24. In response to a query from a Copt in the audience as to what was the church doing for the 157 Copts detained and charged in connection with the incident of St. Mary and St. Michel's Church in Talbiya, the Pope said "We are doing our best in this matter."

The 87-year-old pontiff verbally expressed his anger at the authorities in connection with the escalating assaults against Copts, which many view as a sign of a wide rift between the Pope and the government. He had previously denounced what he described as the "excessive use of force against Coptic protesters" on November 24, adding "Power should be used to serve the people, not for violence. Violence only generates counter-violence."

Pope Shenouda also criticized state security in connection with the incident of el-Nowahed in Abu-Tesht on November 15, in which 22 Coptic homes were torched by Muslims and no charges have been levied against any of the Muslim perpetrators, who have been identified. "Where are the Security Forces and where are the compensations for those poor people," said the Pope, "If they won't then we will".

The latest attack on the Copts took place on November 24, when Security forces clashed with Coptic protesters at several locations, after authorities halted construction of St. Mary and St. Michel's Church, in Talbia, Omrania district, preparing for its demolition. The authorities claimed that the building was licensed as a community center , while the church insists the permit has been changed by the Governor of Giza. It was reported that secretary to the Governor of Giza visited the congregation on November 23rd and congratulated them on the new church.

All persons arrested in the clash with state security, including minors, have been charged with premeditated attempted murder of police officers, illegal possession of weapons and explosives without a license, blocking public roads, destruction of public property for terrorism purposes, congregation in violation of the law, and rioting. Such charges carry sentences of 15 years imprisonment.

Lawyer Adel Mikhail said that because the defendants were charged with possession of explosives, cases will be brought before a State Security Court.

Defense Lawyers had submitted an appeal to the Primary Giza Court on December 6, requesting the detainees' release, denying the existence of any justification for their detention. This was turned down and detainment of the detainees was renewed for a further 15 days, pending investigations.

"The accusations made against the detainees are not consistent with the facts. None of the prosecution records proved in any case signs of Molotov cocktails the presence of weapons," said lawyer Adel Mikhail, "These charges are based on hearsay."

On December 9, the Misdemeanor Appeals Court has turned down the release appeal for the Coptic defendants. and upheld the primary Court's decision of December 6.

Adel Mikhail said that the judge listened to the lawyers for over two and half hours, and if it was up to him, he would have released, the defendants. "I understood as a defense lawyer that our appeal was rebuffed due to top level instructions and a pre-agreed plan for the case," he said in an interview with Coptic activist Mariam Ragey.

"Most detainees were either going to school or university or as volunteers or paid workers in the building of the church, when they were arrested by the police." adding "prosecution knows that those defendants did not commit those crimes."

Human rights organizations inside and outside Egypt decried the unjust handling by State Security of the incident, especially the use of live ammunition on protesters. International Christian Concern called for the release of the detained Coptic children.

On November 8, fourteen Egyptian Human rights organizations, headed by the Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination, issued a statement criticizing the interference of state security in the investigations of the detainees, the deliberate medical neglect suffered by the injured defendants, and "to put an end to this security authorities farce, in which the accused are treated like prisoners, depriving them of the rights and guarantees which must not be compromised." The statement decried the crude treatment by security forces and the public persecution of the defense team

A number of rallies are to be staged next week in Europe , Canada, Australia and the US, against the Church incident, decrying the barbaric attack on Copts with live ammunition and demanding the release of those arrested, "who as usual, are taken as "hostages" by the authorities as a means to humiliate and blackmail the Coptic community," said the US-based Coptic Solidarity advocacy .

"2010 is a bloody year for the Copts, starting with the Christmas Eve Massacre on January 6 when six Coptic youth were killed when Islamists opened fire on worshipers as they left the prayer service," said activist Mark Ebeid, "and now comes the Massacre of Omraniya. The only difference is that in the first, three Islamists shot the Copts, but in Omraniya, the mighty State Security did the shooting themselves on the unarmed Copts."

Endless Islamic suppression and humiliation of Egyptian Christians. Call for Ethiopian solidarity

In a sinister, provocative and vile act that further highlights the bigotry of the lawless land of Egypt under the rule of Mubarak, the Islamists swine converted a four storey dwelling into a mosque directly opposite the Church of St. Mary and St. Michaels in Talbiya. This is the same church that the Egyptian security force attacked in a military style offensive on 24 November resulting in the murder of four Copts by the Egyptian security force. A licence to Kill and murder Copts.

The Giza Governorate in their pathetic discriminatory fashion did not raise an eye brow when the Islamists converted "overnight" a house facing the church into a mosque. If you are wondering, no the local governor did not send an army to treat the Islamists the same way they treated the Christians of Egypt. This new Mosque, proves beyond any doubt that the church was attacked because islamic neighbours do NOT want a church in that area, despite there been 1 million copts with no place of worship.

The new so-called "Ekhlass" mosque was converted secretly Thursday evening when a cloth sign was hastily hung outside a 4 story house. It was then used on Friday morning, when over 3000 Muslims prayed there, despite the presence of a large mosque on the other side of the bridge, not far from the new mosque. Apparently the owner of the house, which is still under construction, donated it.
The Governor under the Mubarak Regime did not say a word, and because they are Islamic swine, they did not need a permit the same way the Christians are forced to wait years for a presidential approval to build a Mosque.

"Of course the new mosque did not have to get a building license, local council or state security permission, as is the case with churches," said Coptic activist Mark Ebeid.

This perverted act was designed to prevent the Coptic church ever been approved, due to the minimum distance required by law between a church and a mosque, Copts view this conversion of the house into a new mosque "as a trick on the part of the government to make the completion and use of St. Mary's Church an impossibility."

"We are devastated," said a local Copt. "This church cost the poor people 7 million Egyptian pounds, which we collected by having to go without a lot in our homes, and there comes the governor and state security, angry because we built a dome and destroy it, kill our children, leave others maimed and the rest in prison for a very long time."

There is no doubt that Mubarak is a toothless tiger and allows this blatant discrimination to occur while he sleeps peacefully.

The radical bigoted Islamists dogs need to realise there is indeed a GOD. Whilst they perversely attack the Copts in every possible way under the false premise that they are untouchable, I warn them to be very careful, for the wrath of god has no boundaries. No one is beyond the reach of GOD and nothing will save you when God Almighty unleashes his vengeance upon you. Vengeance is mine said the lord.

President Mubarak with the greatest of respect and sympathy we are aware that you have already felt the pain and anguish of loosing a loved one, when your grandson passed away in May 2009. After having experienced such pain, “How In Gods Holy name can you allow a security force to inflict such pain on other families over the construction of a place of worship? (May God Have mercy upon the soul of your grandson and grant him eternal peace)

To add to the ridicule, pain, anguish and discrimination you sit by and allow the islamists to convert a house in to a mosque, where is the equal treatment. Where is the security force enforcing the rule of law?

The world at large is witnessing the Islamists abuse towards non Muslims. While the Coptic Christians may appear weak and defenceless to the Islamists, beware Jesus is there shepherd and guardian, and in his own time he will make Egypt aware of his benevolent existence. The Pharaoh treated Moses in the same way that your regime is treating the Christians, and we all now the end result of that belligerence. The world thought the Muslim Brotherhood were the greatest threat to non Muslims, how wrong we were. Your regime and it its bigoted attitude towards non Muslims is the venomous threat towards non Muslims.

The so-called Islamic republic of Egypt has only 1678 churches, but over 77674 mosques.

Christian Churches: 1678
Muslim Mosques: 77674

In addition Egypt is the country with the most number of mosque in the entire world.

Are the Islamists that desperate to prevent the construction of a church, that they can circumvent laws and erect or convert a Mosque at whim with no regard for laws and no action by your GOVERNMENT?

The Egyptian Government is proving itself to be a disgraceful entity intent on annihilation of the Copts. The Copts do not fear you or your Islamic government. We fear God almighty, and no one can circumvent God.

President Mubarak, Copts and Christians worldwide implore your immediate and personal intervention in this disgraceful and abusive conduct by your government officials. The ball is in your court. You are the leader and President, show some leadership and take control of the country that you have been entrusted with in your twilight years.

“Church building in Egypt is still partly governed by the Haayoni Decree of 1856, when Egypt was under Ottoman rule. After gaining independence in 1922, Egypt abolished all laws except for the Hamayouni Decree, which required the permission of the king or the president to build a church. In addition, in 1934 the Interior Minister, Al-Ezaby Pacha, issued a decree that stipulated 10 conditions that must be met prior to issuance of a presidential decree permitting the construction of a church. The conditions include the requirement that the distance between a church and a mosque be not less than 100 meters and the approval of the neighboring Muslim community.

Additional considerations or conditions are the number of Christians in the area and whether or not the proposed church is near the Nile, public utility or a railway.

The new Coptic Church of St. Mary and St. Michael's, in Talbiya, Giza, was the scene on November 24 of security forces fire and using tear gas on women, children and youth who were present at the church, in order to halt construction of the church and demolish the building (video). The clashes between security and the Copts resulted in the death of three Coptic men from bullet wounds and a four year old child from a tear gas being thrown inside the chapel. More than 79 Copts were wounded, some severely, and 157 people including women and children, were all charged, with premeditated murder of a police officer, assaulting security officers, rioting, theft and destruction of public property” (AINA 11-30-2010). Sounds exactly like the conduct of Mohammed their so called prophet.

Our Heart Felt appreciation to AINA and Mary Abdelmasih for alerting the world to the disgraceful conduct of Islam towards the Copts.

Let the actions of Egypt serve as a warning to every Non Muslim Land in the world.

Beware of the Perversion and abuse of Islam.

Maybe the entire world should Ban any construction of any new mosques until such time islamic countries like egypt can prove they will treat non muslims equally and equitably, otherwise for the love of sanity, spare yourselves the pain and suppress islam in your homelands.

To Ethiopia: Learn from Egypt, do what your brave forefathers used to do: Ethiopia should start dismantling all the Mosques built in Addis Ababa after 1989

To the USA: do not be fools, say absolutely NO to the ground zero Mosque and wake up to yourselves.

Enough is enough, we are sick of the bullshit that Islam is a peaceful religion, who the hell are you kidding.

If any of you actually believe the crap we are been pedalled and actually think islam is peaceful, PLEASE go live in egypt and get a reality check.

Somali teenage girl shot to death for embracing Christ

CDN

A 17-year-old girl in Somalia who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death last week in an apparent “honor killing,” area sources said.

Nurta Mohamed Farah, who had fled her village of Bardher, Gedo Region to Galgadud Region to live with relatives after her parents tortured her for leaving Islam, died on Nov. 25. Area sources said they strongly suspected that the two unidentified men in Galgadud Region who shot her in the chest and head with a pistol were relatives or acting on their behest.

“Reports reached the relatives in Galgadud that Nurta Farah had converted to Christianity,” one source said. “The suspicion that the family is responsible is a solid one. The sister was killed in Abudwaq, a district in Galgadud Region, and the place where the incident took place is about 200 meters from where the sister was staying with relatives.”

Relatives buried Farah, sources said. Her parents had severely beaten her for leaving Islam and regularly shackled her to a tree at their home, Christian sources said. She had been confined to her home in Gedo region in southern Somalia since May 10, when her family found out that she had embraced Christianity, said a Christian leader who visited the area (see “Family of 17-Year-Old Somali Girl Abuses Her for Leaving Islam,” June 15).

Her parents also took her to a doctor who prescribed medication for a “mental illness,” he said. Alarmed by her determination to keep her faith, her father, Hassan Kafi Ilmi, and mother, Hawo Godane Haf, decided she had gone crazy and forced her to take the prescribed medication, but it had no effect in swaying her from her faith, the source said.

Traditionally, he added, many Somalis believe the Quran cures the sick, especially the mentally ill, so the Islamic scripture was recited to her twice a week.

She had declined her family’s offer of forgiveness in exchange for renouncing Christianity, the source said. The confinement began after the medication and punishments failed.

Area Christians had reported that Farah was shackled to a tree by day and put in a small, dark room at night.

Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government generally did not enforce protection of religious freedom found in the Transitional Federal Charter, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom Report.

“Non-Muslims who practiced their religion openly faced occasional societal harassment,” the report stated. “Conversion from Islam to another religion was considered socially unacceptable. Those suspected of conversion faced harassment or even death from members of their community.”