Showing posts with label Christian perscution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian perscution. Show all posts
Friday, November 4, 2011
Ending Arab slavery
My life has been profoundly changed by a blind teenage boy. His name is Ker Deng. He belongs to the Dinka tribe in southern Sudan.
Arab raiders from northern Sudan enslaved Ker in his infancy. His mother later told him how they were captured and forced to leave their home in southern Sudan. Many of their relatives and neighbors, especially men, were killed. Homes were burned. Cows and goats were stolen. Ker and his mother were tied to a camel and taken to the north as booty of war.Ker will always be haunted by the vivid memories of abuse meted out by his sadistic master: frequent beatings and death threats, racial abuse, forced conversion to Islam and, of course, ultimate denial of his humanity.
His meals consisted mostly of horse food. At night, he slept with the goats.
His mother faced indescribable abuse as their master’s sex slave. I’ve spoken to dozens of freed Sudanese slaves, who have told me that rape and beatings are frequent, and that most women’s genitals are mutilated.
Christians face increasing hostility in North Sudan
Constructing worship buildings more difficult since secession of South Sudan
The Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) congregation in Omdurman West, across the Nile River from Khartoum, has continued to meet for Sunday worship in a building without a roof in spite of opposition from area Muslims and local authorities, the sources told Compass. Claiming that Christianity was no longer an accepted religion in the country, Muslims in the Hay al Sawra, Block 29 area of Omdurman West on Aug. 5 attacked SCOC members who were constructing the church building, the sources said.
“We do not want any presence of churches in our area,” shouted members of the mob as they threw stones at the Christians, the sources said.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Another genocide in the Middle East
It is very hard to believe that -at the 21st century- security and equality for Christians in Egypt is still a dream!! The Copts are the largest minority in the world without rights! Christians of Egypt are facing a campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Fanatic Muslims supported and blessed by the authorities!
Although Coptic Christians in Egypt have the right for a special treatment to compensate for centuries of discrimination and persecution, at present, they are only asking for equality and human dignity.
In 1979, after kissing the hands of the Americans, former Egyptian president Anwar- El-Sadat felt adopted by his new masters who were so eager to see some semblance of the peace in the strategic area of the Middle East. They all lavished him with praise, approval and funds to keep him committed and loyal to the peace deal with Israel. But this was Sadat’s game plan; if he acts in a sycophant manner with the Americans, they will close their eyes about Egypt’s dismal record on human rights and he can continue with his plan to eliminate Christianity from Egypt. Both MUHAMMAD Anwar El-Sadat and Zul Fiqar Ali Bhutto sponsored the secret resolutions of the second Islamic summit which called for the elimination of Christians and Christianity from the Middle East by the year 2000. But God had other plans than his. Both he and Bhutto had their lives ended in the most disgraceful way. After his return to Pakistan General Zia Ul-Haq overthow Bhutto and ignoring international appeals to spare his life, he had him hanged in the early hours of the day shackled in chains and led barefooted to the gallows. Later on Sadat was fatally shot by the hands of the people he trained to kill the Christians.
The Copts face real extermination steps since the events of Khanka, through al-Zawiah al-Hamra, KOSHEH, Assiut, Al-Muharraq monastery, and Alexandria... Etc. They are now hitting monks! They have been killing Copts and looting of their property and oppressing them. The Egyptian authorities are keen to mention such barbaric actions as individual events. While Copts live in fear, they are supporting the criminals and offenders and enable them to escape without any punishment.
Fridays became night-mares for Christians as the assailants -prodded along by the imam's fanatic address- decide to take the law in their own hands and attack the Copts, believing they are thus doing Islam the greatest favor ever! Being inflamed by the Imam of the mosque after Fridays' prayers, the mob start chanting anti-Christian and anti-Jewish slogans and hurling rocks and fire at the places of worship, stores, cars and houses of the Christians! They raid the churches, attack and kill the innocent prayers using the swords! Although they are the original natives of Egypt, Copts gradually became dispensable second-class citizens since the Islamic invasion of the seventh century. Copts became a minority although their number may exceed sixteen millions, which is about 20% of Egypt's population in honest census that they are denied to have. This has been the result of forced conversion to Islam, paying the costly tribute or facing martyrdom!
Copts who are converted to Islam through the many oppressive ways are not allowed to return to Christianity as the officials deny issuing Identification cards that have their original names and religion. To convert to Islam, the government makes it the easiest and sweetest trip. Copts are humiliated every second through the state owned media that are paid for by the tax-payers money where Copts pay most of it. Besides the intensifying cultural, educational, religious, social, judicial and economic hardships made Copts immigrate and leave their home-land. Above seven million Copts left Egypt since the last fifty years. More than one million settled in USA and became very successful as this is the land of equal opportunity. That shows the cultural effect on achievement. In short, Copts in Egypt are persecuted. They can not even dare to say that, otherwise they will face the terrible fate. Can you speak up for them? Proverbs 31:8-9 says "Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the right of the poor and needy
Our Christian brothers and sisters in Egypt are humiliated, tortured, persecuted, and even killed. Security agencies go into coma as long as the victims were Copts. Truly, it is the policy of eliminating Christianity in Egypt. Monks in monasteries have suffered all kinds of torment and humiliation. They were kidnapped and the assailants asked them to spit on the Cross and become Muslims! Can you believe that the governor of Minya, told Abu Fana monks to pay Gizia to the criminal Arab offenders to live in safety? Do you imagine that in the twenty-first century, the aggressors hold modern weapons and the State protect them and protect their weapons as long as they are directed against the Christians?
In the latest "cycle of violence", Egyptian security forces joined in with a Muslim mob bringing terror and death to group of Coptic protesters who were ironically demonstrating against the terror and death Muslim mobs have been bringing to Copts.
Crimes against humanity are committed from Alexandria to Minya. This happens only because they are Christians, and the Muslim believes that the Christian blood and money are permitted and halal for Muslims.
Of course, this is not entirely a new phenomenon. The ethnic cleansing of Christians in Egypt has been going on since 639 AD, when Muslims first invaded the country. This is only the final stage in the attempted extermination of a people -- one that has already been repeated many times across the Middle East.
The attack is still ongoing upon underage girls and forced Islamization is still happening through the encouragement of authorities. The suffering of the monks, the atrocities of our brothers and sisters, the on-going physical liquidation of the Coptic Christians in general must be stopped.
Christianity is positive not negative, Christianity is work, not slump, Christianity is love not hate! The Christian appeal and cooperation are not selfish. Christianity does not accept injustice or humiliation! The Christian crown over our heads mandates us to show that we deserve it. Our voices have to go to the sky carried by the angels and moving them to the Glory of Jesus Christ. Your voices have to be heard .The defenseless must be defended. We need to speak for those who do not have the right to speak.
Although Coptic Christians in Egypt have the right for a special treatment to compensate for centuries of discrimination and persecution, at present, they are only asking for equality and human dignity.
In 1979, after kissing the hands of the Americans, former Egyptian president Anwar- El-Sadat felt adopted by his new masters who were so eager to see some semblance of the peace in the strategic area of the Middle East. They all lavished him with praise, approval and funds to keep him committed and loyal to the peace deal with Israel. But this was Sadat’s game plan; if he acts in a sycophant manner with the Americans, they will close their eyes about Egypt’s dismal record on human rights and he can continue with his plan to eliminate Christianity from Egypt. Both MUHAMMAD Anwar El-Sadat and Zul Fiqar Ali Bhutto sponsored the secret resolutions of the second Islamic summit which called for the elimination of Christians and Christianity from the Middle East by the year 2000. But God had other plans than his. Both he and Bhutto had their lives ended in the most disgraceful way. After his return to Pakistan General Zia Ul-Haq overthow Bhutto and ignoring international appeals to spare his life, he had him hanged in the early hours of the day shackled in chains and led barefooted to the gallows. Later on Sadat was fatally shot by the hands of the people he trained to kill the Christians.
The Copts face real extermination steps since the events of Khanka, through al-Zawiah al-Hamra, KOSHEH, Assiut, Al-Muharraq monastery, and Alexandria... Etc. They are now hitting monks! They have been killing Copts and looting of their property and oppressing them. The Egyptian authorities are keen to mention such barbaric actions as individual events. While Copts live in fear, they are supporting the criminals and offenders and enable them to escape without any punishment.
Fridays became night-mares for Christians as the assailants -prodded along by the imam's fanatic address- decide to take the law in their own hands and attack the Copts, believing they are thus doing Islam the greatest favor ever! Being inflamed by the Imam of the mosque after Fridays' prayers, the mob start chanting anti-Christian and anti-Jewish slogans and hurling rocks and fire at the places of worship, stores, cars and houses of the Christians! They raid the churches, attack and kill the innocent prayers using the swords! Although they are the original natives of Egypt, Copts gradually became dispensable second-class citizens since the Islamic invasion of the seventh century. Copts became a minority although their number may exceed sixteen millions, which is about 20% of Egypt's population in honest census that they are denied to have. This has been the result of forced conversion to Islam, paying the costly tribute or facing martyrdom!
Copts who are converted to Islam through the many oppressive ways are not allowed to return to Christianity as the officials deny issuing Identification cards that have their original names and religion. To convert to Islam, the government makes it the easiest and sweetest trip. Copts are humiliated every second through the state owned media that are paid for by the tax-payers money where Copts pay most of it. Besides the intensifying cultural, educational, religious, social, judicial and economic hardships made Copts immigrate and leave their home-land. Above seven million Copts left Egypt since the last fifty years. More than one million settled in USA and became very successful as this is the land of equal opportunity. That shows the cultural effect on achievement. In short, Copts in Egypt are persecuted. They can not even dare to say that, otherwise they will face the terrible fate. Can you speak up for them? Proverbs 31:8-9 says "Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the right of the poor and needy
Our Christian brothers and sisters in Egypt are humiliated, tortured, persecuted, and even killed. Security agencies go into coma as long as the victims were Copts. Truly, it is the policy of eliminating Christianity in Egypt. Monks in monasteries have suffered all kinds of torment and humiliation. They were kidnapped and the assailants asked them to spit on the Cross and become Muslims! Can you believe that the governor of Minya, told Abu Fana monks to pay Gizia to the criminal Arab offenders to live in safety? Do you imagine that in the twenty-first century, the aggressors hold modern weapons and the State protect them and protect their weapons as long as they are directed against the Christians?
In the latest "cycle of violence", Egyptian security forces joined in with a Muslim mob bringing terror and death to group of Coptic protesters who were ironically demonstrating against the terror and death Muslim mobs have been bringing to Copts.
Crimes against humanity are committed from Alexandria to Minya. This happens only because they are Christians, and the Muslim believes that the Christian blood and money are permitted and halal for Muslims.
Of course, this is not entirely a new phenomenon. The ethnic cleansing of Christians in Egypt has been going on since 639 AD, when Muslims first invaded the country. This is only the final stage in the attempted extermination of a people -- one that has already been repeated many times across the Middle East.
The attack is still ongoing upon underage girls and forced Islamization is still happening through the encouragement of authorities. The suffering of the monks, the atrocities of our brothers and sisters, the on-going physical liquidation of the Coptic Christians in general must be stopped.
Christianity is positive not negative, Christianity is work, not slump, Christianity is love not hate! The Christian appeal and cooperation are not selfish. Christianity does not accept injustice or humiliation! The Christian crown over our heads mandates us to show that we deserve it. Our voices have to go to the sky carried by the angels and moving them to the Glory of Jesus Christ. Your voices have to be heard .The defenseless must be defended. We need to speak for those who do not have the right to speak.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Christians in Nigera are fleeing Jos from fear of Muslim attacks
A pastor of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) King James Dapar, has raised alarm that Christians in Jos, Plateau State, are fleeing their homes out of fear of attacks by Hausa-Fulani Muslim militants.
The Christian leader, according to allAfrica.com, raised the alarm when The Middle Belt Dialogue (MDB), an NGO, presented donations of relief materials to the church whose members have been affected by the ongoing crisis in Jos, Nigeria.
The pastor, while receiving the materials, said the Christian community was besieged by Hausa-Fulani Muslim militants who attack at the slightest provocation. The pastor said Christians in the Chwalnyap area live constantly in fear of Hausa settlers, and many were relocating to safer zones and selling their homes to Hausa buyers:
"We are surrounded by the Hausa people and they harass and intimidate us at will. At the slightest provocation, they will just start attacking us. But God has been helping us. Many people have relocated from Chwalnyap. Our people are relocating and selling their houses to the Hausa people. But our fear is that once the Hausa people buy the houses at the strategic route that is serving as escape route for us during crisis, we are finished."
The pastor called on wealthy Christians and the state government to buy the houses relocating Christians were abandoning rather than allow the houses to be bought by their "Hausa oppressors." The pastor said the Plateau State government, intending to set up security outposts in the area, had bought some of the houses Christians left. The state government, according to the pastor, has, however, so far not done anything to establish the security outposts.
MORE
The Christian leader, according to allAfrica.com, raised the alarm when The Middle Belt Dialogue (MDB), an NGO, presented donations of relief materials to the church whose members have been affected by the ongoing crisis in Jos, Nigeria.
The pastor, while receiving the materials, said the Christian community was besieged by Hausa-Fulani Muslim militants who attack at the slightest provocation. The pastor said Christians in the Chwalnyap area live constantly in fear of Hausa settlers, and many were relocating to safer zones and selling their homes to Hausa buyers:
"We are surrounded by the Hausa people and they harass and intimidate us at will. At the slightest provocation, they will just start attacking us. But God has been helping us. Many people have relocated from Chwalnyap. Our people are relocating and selling their houses to the Hausa people. But our fear is that once the Hausa people buy the houses at the strategic route that is serving as escape route for us during crisis, we are finished."
The pastor called on wealthy Christians and the state government to buy the houses relocating Christians were abandoning rather than allow the houses to be bought by their "Hausa oppressors." The pastor said the Plateau State government, intending to set up security outposts in the area, had bought some of the houses Christians left. The state government, according to the pastor, has, however, so far not done anything to establish the security outposts.
MORE
Coptic Christians protect monastery from Egyptian army assault
Hundreds of Coptic Christians mobilized on Tuesday in front of the Monastery of the Virgin and St. John the Beloved, located on the Desert Road from Cairo to Ismailia. Although the Monastery has the necessary permits, the army had sent a message to the monastery that they would come on the next day, October 25, to demolish its fence, which guards it from unauthorized visits and criminals.
The official website of the Monastery warned of threats of a " new massacre" by the Egyptian Armed Forces, and the removal of its fence, pointing out that the Monastery was built in 2002 and is under the supervision of the secretariat of H.H. Pope Shenouda.
When the Army vehicles with demolishing equipment arrived at the monastery, they were met by priests, monks, deacons and Copts all dressed up in white for mass, holding wooden crosses, praying and singing hymns.
Other Copts flocked to the Monastery, which lies 80 miles from Cairo, on hearing of the news.
MORE
The official website of the Monastery warned of threats of a " new massacre" by the Egyptian Armed Forces, and the removal of its fence, pointing out that the Monastery was built in 2002 and is under the supervision of the secretariat of H.H. Pope Shenouda.
When the Army vehicles with demolishing equipment arrived at the monastery, they were met by priests, monks, deacons and Copts all dressed up in white for mass, holding wooden crosses, praying and singing hymns.
Other Copts flocked to the Monastery, which lies 80 miles from Cairo, on hearing of the news.
MORE
Monday, July 11, 2011
Jihad In Sudan Redux
On July 9, the mostly Christian South Sudan will legally and officially separate from the Muslim north and become a new, independent and free country. Fearing loss of its iron clad grip of other non-Arab regions in the north, whose people likely envy the freedoms won by the South, Arab/Islamist leaders in Khartoum have launched a military assault on the Nuba Mountains, a mixed Christian, animist and Muslim region. Reports from the area are gruesomely reminiscent of the decades-long assault Khartoum waged on the South. These include forced conversions to Islam, mass displacement, bombing of civilians and mass slaughter.
Anticipating the effects of Christians winning freedom from his rule already in December of 2010 Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity, laid out a vision for the future of his nation:
"If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity... Sharia (Islamic law) and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language", he told a group of supporters.
Al-Bashir made his statement as the people of Southern Sudan were preparing to vote in the referendum that secured their imminent independence. With less than a week left before South secedes, al-Bashir is determined to fulfill his promise not by changing the constitution, but through murder and ethnic cleansing.
After concluding a military occupation of the disputed border region of Abyei, which resulted in the expulsion of more than 100,000 (non-Arabs, mostly from the Dinka tribe), Sudanese army and government-sponsored Arab militias attacked the African tribes of Nuba Mountains, a region situated in the Northern state of Southern Kordofan. Reports indicate indiscriminate bombings of civilians and a systematic killing of the black-skinned Nuba, which forced estimated 100,000 to abandon their homes. One report described "door to door executions of completely innocent and defenseless civilians, often by throat cutting." Another suggested the government might be using chemical weapons. The Bishop of Nuba Mountains described the events as genocide: "Once again we are facing the nightmare of genocide of our people in a final attempt to erase our culture and society from the face of the earth." A well-respected Sudan analyst concurred.
Nuba embody the diversity of culture and religion that al-Bashir wants to destroy. Numbering some 1.5 million, Nuba people are Christians, Muslims and the followers of traditional faiths. It is not uncommon to find the adherents of all faiths within a single family. Comprising from more than fifty tribes and speaking an equal number of languages, the Nuba have an incredibly diverse culture.
Just like the Africans of the South, the Nuba have faced racial discrimination from the Arab governments and elites of the North, which led them to join Sudan's People Liberation Army (SPLA) at the beginning of the second outbreak of Sudan's Civil War (1983-2005). The government's response, especially after the Islamist regime of Al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi seized power in 1989, escalated into the campaign of annihilation. The Nuba people lost their lands; they were murdered, starved and enslaved. In what some called genocide in the name of Islam, all Nuba-Christians, animists and even Muslims-were targeted for eradication; estimated 200,000 perished.
In the crackdown that reach the Nuba Mountains even before the outbreak of the war, Christian clergy was murdered; churches burned, while Christian children were abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and often forced to join the Sudanese army to fight against their own people. In the current attack Christian places of worship are also being destroyed. In January 1992, South Kordofan governor, Lt. General al-Hussein officially declared the war a "jihad." Shortly after, in 1993, the religious leaders of Southern Kordofan issued a fatwa that legalized it:
"The rebels in South Kordofan and Southern Sudan started their rebellion against the state and declared war against the Moslems. Their main aims are: killing the Moslems, desecrating mosques, burning and defiling the Koran, and raping Moslem women. In so doing, they are encouraged by the enemies of Islam and Moslems: these foes are the Zionists, the Christians and the arrogant people who provide them with provisions and arms. Therefore, an insurgent who was previously a Moslem is now an apostate; and a non-Moslem is a non-believer standing as a bulwark against the spread of Islam, and Islam has granted the freedom of killing both of them."
Following this religious ruling, Sudanese soldiers and allied militias began killing Nuba imams, burning mosques and desecrating Korans. Today, the same actors praise God as they kill the innoncent.
To destroy the social fabric of the Nuba society the government forces and the Arab militiamen systematically raped thousands of Nuba women, including girls as young as nine. The raping took place during abductions, in military camps, and in so-called "peace camps." One victim, a 17 years-old girl named Fawzia Jibreel, told African Rights:
"After dark, the soldiers came and took the girls to their rooms, and raped them. I was taken and raped... When you have been taken, the soldier who has taken you will do what he wants, then he will go out of the room, you will stay, and another one will come...Every day the raping continued... It is impossible to count the men who raped me. Perhaps in a week I would have only one day of rest. Sometimes one man will take me for the whole night. Sometimes I will be raped by four or five men per day or night; they will just be changing one for another."
The policy of rape is being used in the Nuba Mountains once again.
On July 1, during Friday prayers in a mosque in Khartoum, al-Bashir said that he ordered his soldiers to continue "cleaning" South Kordofan. As history shows all those who care about the plight of Nuba and other Africans of Sudan must take his words seriously and act to stop his religious genocide.
Anticipating the effects of Christians winning freedom from his rule already in December of 2010 Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity, laid out a vision for the future of his nation:
"If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity... Sharia (Islamic law) and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language", he told a group of supporters.
Al-Bashir made his statement as the people of Southern Sudan were preparing to vote in the referendum that secured their imminent independence. With less than a week left before South secedes, al-Bashir is determined to fulfill his promise not by changing the constitution, but through murder and ethnic cleansing.
After concluding a military occupation of the disputed border region of Abyei, which resulted in the expulsion of more than 100,000 (non-Arabs, mostly from the Dinka tribe), Sudanese army and government-sponsored Arab militias attacked the African tribes of Nuba Mountains, a region situated in the Northern state of Southern Kordofan. Reports indicate indiscriminate bombings of civilians and a systematic killing of the black-skinned Nuba, which forced estimated 100,000 to abandon their homes. One report described "door to door executions of completely innocent and defenseless civilians, often by throat cutting." Another suggested the government might be using chemical weapons. The Bishop of Nuba Mountains described the events as genocide: "Once again we are facing the nightmare of genocide of our people in a final attempt to erase our culture and society from the face of the earth." A well-respected Sudan analyst concurred.
Nuba embody the diversity of culture and religion that al-Bashir wants to destroy. Numbering some 1.5 million, Nuba people are Christians, Muslims and the followers of traditional faiths. It is not uncommon to find the adherents of all faiths within a single family. Comprising from more than fifty tribes and speaking an equal number of languages, the Nuba have an incredibly diverse culture.
Just like the Africans of the South, the Nuba have faced racial discrimination from the Arab governments and elites of the North, which led them to join Sudan's People Liberation Army (SPLA) at the beginning of the second outbreak of Sudan's Civil War (1983-2005). The government's response, especially after the Islamist regime of Al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi seized power in 1989, escalated into the campaign of annihilation. The Nuba people lost their lands; they were murdered, starved and enslaved. In what some called genocide in the name of Islam, all Nuba-Christians, animists and even Muslims-were targeted for eradication; estimated 200,000 perished.
In the crackdown that reach the Nuba Mountains even before the outbreak of the war, Christian clergy was murdered; churches burned, while Christian children were abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and often forced to join the Sudanese army to fight against their own people. In the current attack Christian places of worship are also being destroyed. In January 1992, South Kordofan governor, Lt. General al-Hussein officially declared the war a "jihad." Shortly after, in 1993, the religious leaders of Southern Kordofan issued a fatwa that legalized it:
"The rebels in South Kordofan and Southern Sudan started their rebellion against the state and declared war against the Moslems. Their main aims are: killing the Moslems, desecrating mosques, burning and defiling the Koran, and raping Moslem women. In so doing, they are encouraged by the enemies of Islam and Moslems: these foes are the Zionists, the Christians and the arrogant people who provide them with provisions and arms. Therefore, an insurgent who was previously a Moslem is now an apostate; and a non-Moslem is a non-believer standing as a bulwark against the spread of Islam, and Islam has granted the freedom of killing both of them."
Following this religious ruling, Sudanese soldiers and allied militias began killing Nuba imams, burning mosques and desecrating Korans. Today, the same actors praise God as they kill the innoncent.
To destroy the social fabric of the Nuba society the government forces and the Arab militiamen systematically raped thousands of Nuba women, including girls as young as nine. The raping took place during abductions, in military camps, and in so-called "peace camps." One victim, a 17 years-old girl named Fawzia Jibreel, told African Rights:
"After dark, the soldiers came and took the girls to their rooms, and raped them. I was taken and raped... When you have been taken, the soldier who has taken you will do what he wants, then he will go out of the room, you will stay, and another one will come...Every day the raping continued... It is impossible to count the men who raped me. Perhaps in a week I would have only one day of rest. Sometimes one man will take me for the whole night. Sometimes I will be raped by four or five men per day or night; they will just be changing one for another."
The policy of rape is being used in the Nuba Mountains once again.
On July 1, during Friday prayers in a mosque in Khartoum, al-Bashir said that he ordered his soldiers to continue "cleaning" South Kordofan. As history shows all those who care about the plight of Nuba and other Africans of Sudan must take his words seriously and act to stop his religious genocide.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Christian hospital under attack in Pakistan
A group of Muslims tries to seize forcibly a Christian hospital in Taxila, 32 kilometres from the capital Islamabad by making false claims with police. The intervention of Christian leaders and Bishop Rufin Anthony stops the threat.
An attempt by a group of Muslims to take over the Christian Hospital in Taxila was recently foiled. On Saturday, Malik Nur Muhammad, Malik Riaz and Malik Abdul Razzak, influential local Muslims, filed a First Information Report (FIR) with police against the administration of the hospital. The facility, which is located almost 32 kilometres from Islamabad, was established by United Presbyterian Church. They complainants say they bought the hospital and accuse the administrators of refusing to hand it over. They also accuse the current administration of blasphemy but did not include such an accusation in their original application.
MORE
An attempt by a group of Muslims to take over the Christian Hospital in Taxila was recently foiled. On Saturday, Malik Nur Muhammad, Malik Riaz and Malik Abdul Razzak, influential local Muslims, filed a First Information Report (FIR) with police against the administration of the hospital. The facility, which is located almost 32 kilometres from Islamabad, was established by United Presbyterian Church. They complainants say they bought the hospital and accuse the administrators of refusing to hand it over. They also accuse the current administration of blasphemy but did not include such an accusation in their original application.
MORE
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Egypt: We don't want a Christian as governor
Islamists in southern Egypt are continuing their protests against the appointment of a Coptic Christian as governor, and have vowed not to stop until he was removed from office, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
The ultraconservative Salafis began their protest on Friday in Qena against the new governor, Emad Shehata Michael, who, they fear will not properly implement Islamic law. Protestors also accuse Mr. Michael, who worked as assistant to Giza security during the revolution, of being a member of the old regime that killed protesters, claiming many came from Qena, according to a report in Al Ahram Online.
Attempts by the newly appointed interior minister, Mansour El-Eissawy, who hails from the same region, did not halt the protests by the Salafis who sat on train tracks, took over government buildings and blocked main roads in the southern city of Qena.
Mr. Michael’s predecessor was also a Christian and a former police general, but he was appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak and was largely disliked for his alleged incompetence, enabling the Salafis to draw on local dissatisfaction in their current campaign, reported AP.
“They started out by camping at the local government's office then they set up a tent on the railroad tracks,” local resident Wafy Nasr told AP. “They also tried to block the road and stopped buses to separate men and women passengers.”
Mr. Nasr said tensions were so high that Christian residents had to stay indoors and couldn't go to church to celebrate Palm Sunday.
“This won't work. A Copt won't implement Islamic law,” a speaker told a crowd at Qena’s government office, as seen on a YouTube video.
Salafis believe only a Muslim can be governor in the country that cites Islam as its primary source of legislation.
“When there is a decision to change the governor to a civilian Muslim, we will end the strike and life will return to normal,” said Sheikh Qureishi Salama, the imam of the local mosque as he questioned why their impoverished province kept getting Christian governors.
“Why is Qena becoming a testing ground for Christians?” he asked. “We aren’t guinea pigs.”
Diaa Rashwan, an expert on Islamic groups and a native of Qena said the problem amongst the majority of the population with the new appointment was that it was a continuation of a trend of installing former police generals as governors.
“The Salafis mobilized many people, many of them religious by nature,” he said.
After forcing out President Mubarak from office in February 11, Islamists seem to be gradually gaining ground. The Muslim Brotherhood, which was prevented from forming a party during Mr. Mubarak’s regime, is increasingly becoming vocal.
A senior party leader caused uproar after he was quoted in local papers as saying his group sought to establish an Islamic state, one that implemented Islamic punishments—including amputating hands for theft.
“We can't sleep anymore, so we give room for this religion to thrive in Egypt. Don’t let us waste this opportunity,” Saad al-Husseini, a leader from the Brotherhood leader was quoted as saying, according to the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Coptic Christians makes up about 10 percent of the country’s 82 million people and have long complained of discrimination in the country, have also been deeply unsettled by the development.
The ultraconservative Salafis began their protest on Friday in Qena against the new governor, Emad Shehata Michael, who, they fear will not properly implement Islamic law. Protestors also accuse Mr. Michael, who worked as assistant to Giza security during the revolution, of being a member of the old regime that killed protesters, claiming many came from Qena, according to a report in Al Ahram Online.
Attempts by the newly appointed interior minister, Mansour El-Eissawy, who hails from the same region, did not halt the protests by the Salafis who sat on train tracks, took over government buildings and blocked main roads in the southern city of Qena.
Mr. Michael’s predecessor was also a Christian and a former police general, but he was appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak and was largely disliked for his alleged incompetence, enabling the Salafis to draw on local dissatisfaction in their current campaign, reported AP.
“They started out by camping at the local government's office then they set up a tent on the railroad tracks,” local resident Wafy Nasr told AP. “They also tried to block the road and stopped buses to separate men and women passengers.”
Mr. Nasr said tensions were so high that Christian residents had to stay indoors and couldn't go to church to celebrate Palm Sunday.
“This won't work. A Copt won't implement Islamic law,” a speaker told a crowd at Qena’s government office, as seen on a YouTube video.
Salafis believe only a Muslim can be governor in the country that cites Islam as its primary source of legislation.
“When there is a decision to change the governor to a civilian Muslim, we will end the strike and life will return to normal,” said Sheikh Qureishi Salama, the imam of the local mosque as he questioned why their impoverished province kept getting Christian governors.
“Why is Qena becoming a testing ground for Christians?” he asked. “We aren’t guinea pigs.”
Diaa Rashwan, an expert on Islamic groups and a native of Qena said the problem amongst the majority of the population with the new appointment was that it was a continuation of a trend of installing former police generals as governors.
“The Salafis mobilized many people, many of them religious by nature,” he said.
After forcing out President Mubarak from office in February 11, Islamists seem to be gradually gaining ground. The Muslim Brotherhood, which was prevented from forming a party during Mr. Mubarak’s regime, is increasingly becoming vocal.
A senior party leader caused uproar after he was quoted in local papers as saying his group sought to establish an Islamic state, one that implemented Islamic punishments—including amputating hands for theft.
“We can't sleep anymore, so we give room for this religion to thrive in Egypt. Don’t let us waste this opportunity,” Saad al-Husseini, a leader from the Brotherhood leader was quoted as saying, according to the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Coptic Christians makes up about 10 percent of the country’s 82 million people and have long complained of discrimination in the country, have also been deeply unsettled by the development.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Eritrean Christian faces death penalty in Saudi Arabia
BARNABASFUND
An Eritrean Christian is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after being arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims.
Mussie Eyob was detained by the authorities at a mosque in Saudi's second largest city, Jeddah, on 12 February. He had gone there to meet and talk with local Muslims after speaking about Christianity at the Eritrean Embassy for three days. Eyob was arrested for preaching to Muslims, an offence that carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Eyob, who was initially assumed to have mental health problems, was examined by doctors, who confirmed that he is fit for trial and sentencing. He was then transferred to the notorious high-security Briman Prison. His family are very concerned for his welfare there.
They visited Eyob on 20 March and found that he had lost weight, though he was in relatively good spirits. He said that he is ready to die for his faith in Christ.
Eyob, who committed to follow Christ just over two years ago, felt compelled to share his faith with local Muslims, despite the danger.
Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic country that follows an extreme and puritanical version of Islam, Wahhabism. The country claims that the Quran is its constitution and that all its laws and regulations are promulgated in line with sharia, which prescribes the death penalty for converts from Islam. Consequently most converts keep their faith secret.
All forms of public religious activities other than those consistent with the government's own interpretation of Sunni Islam are banned. The government has stated that expatriate Christians, of whom there are many in Saudi Arabia, are free to worship in private. But the religious police (mutawaah) sometimes raid private worship services.
The country has one of the highest rates of executions in the world. In late 2009, Amnesty International denounced the presence of at least 141 people on death row in Saudi Arabia, including 104 foreign nationals.
An Eritrean Christian is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after being arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims.
Mussie Eyob was detained by the authorities at a mosque in Saudi's second largest city, Jeddah, on 12 February. He had gone there to meet and talk with local Muslims after speaking about Christianity at the Eritrean Embassy for three days. Eyob was arrested for preaching to Muslims, an offence that carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Eyob, who was initially assumed to have mental health problems, was examined by doctors, who confirmed that he is fit for trial and sentencing. He was then transferred to the notorious high-security Briman Prison. His family are very concerned for his welfare there.
They visited Eyob on 20 March and found that he had lost weight, though he was in relatively good spirits. He said that he is ready to die for his faith in Christ.
Eyob, who committed to follow Christ just over two years ago, felt compelled to share his faith with local Muslims, despite the danger.
Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic country that follows an extreme and puritanical version of Islam, Wahhabism. The country claims that the Quran is its constitution and that all its laws and regulations are promulgated in line with sharia, which prescribes the death penalty for converts from Islam. Consequently most converts keep their faith secret.
All forms of public religious activities other than those consistent with the government's own interpretation of Sunni Islam are banned. The government has stated that expatriate Christians, of whom there are many in Saudi Arabia, are free to worship in private. But the religious police (mutawaah) sometimes raid private worship services.
The country has one of the highest rates of executions in the world. In late 2009, Amnesty International denounced the presence of at least 141 people on death row in Saudi Arabia, including 104 foreign nationals.
Muslim gang leader terrorizing Christians in Egyptian village
AINA
Ten human rights organization staged a rally on March 30 in front of Attorney General’s offices to bring to public attention the tragedy of some nine thousand Coptic villagers living in terror since the end of January in the Upper Egyptian villages of Badraman and Nazlet Badraman in Deir Mawas, Minya.
rights activists and Badraman villagers were joined by attorney activist Peter elNaggar, who filed a complaint with the Attorney General against 34-year-old Muslim police informer Ali Hussein, nicknamed “Holaku” after the ruthless Mongol leader.
AINA said Hussein was accused of terrorizing the Copts, raping their wives, kidnaping their children for ransom and extortion. Attorney elNaggar said that if proven, these charges are punishable by the death penalty.
Security forces were informed last January of the incidents in both villages, "but they just turned a blind eye," said Coptic activist Nader Shoukry, who publicized the story last week after registering all crimes against the Coptic villagers.
AINA said the terror started on Jan. 28, when Ali Hussein assaulted Copt Khalil Suweiha and his family. Suweiha filed a report with the police in Deir Mawas but was forced to drop the charges after being threatened with death by Hussein and his 200-man armed gang.
AINA said Hussein then started extorting money from Copts and attacking their homes. They all had to retract the police reports they filed against him after being threatened.
On Jan. 29, Hussein, broke into the house of another Copt (name withheld), and raped his wife and mother after being restrained by Hussein's men. AINA said according to activist Mariam Ragy, he was too frightened to report the crime to the police after being threatened that his children would be killed.
AINA said Alaa Yusuf Iskandar, 30, was kidnaped and his family paid a ransom of 200,000 Egyptian pounds to Hussein to set him free. Although the family reported the kidnaping to the police, no action was taken.
In addition, AINA said, Hanna Samuel had his 12-year old son kidnaped on March 8; the well to do Coptic family paid a ransom of nearly 500,000 Egyptian pounds to free their child.
According to Shoukry, AINA said, “Ali Hussein has set himself up as governor of the two villages despite the presence of two village mayors. He is practicing injustice and tyranny only against the Copts in the villages. He walks between Christian homes, carrying a weapon on his shoulder, followed by his brothers and cousins and more than fifty armed thugs from outside the villages.”
He added that Hussein and his gang declared that they are the government of the Copts.
The incidents of extortion, looting, crop destruction and kidnaping children for ransom have become so prevalent many families have left the villages as they have no more money to give him.
“His despotism and tyranny reached the extent of imposing a curfew on the Copts from six o'clock in the evening to seven o'clock in the morning. Any Copt daring to break the curfew is beaten up and terrorized,” AINA reported Shoukry said.
On April 2, AINA said, Ali Hussein forced 23 Coptic villagers to go with him to Cairo to the offices of the Attorney General to withdraw their complaints against him, which they had filed on March 30. He detained their children to make sure they would follow his orders.
When they arrived in Cairo the offices of the Attorney General were closed, so Hussein brought the Copts to several newspapers to say the Copts and Muslims live in harmony on Badraman. Only the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram published his story.
AINA said on the morning of April 3, police and army forces stormed the village to arrest Hussein and his gang, but he was tipped off and he and most of his gang fled beforehand. Only a few members of his gang were arrested. The police stayed only three hours in the villages before withdrawing, leaving the Coptic villagers again at the mercy of a furious Ali Hussein.
Since then, AINA said, Hussein has been assaulting the Copts in the villages to force the army to release the members of his gang who were arrested on Sunday.
On April 4 the villagers appealed to Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi to urgently rescue them from the oppression of Ali Hussein, who is holding them as hostages in the village until the release of his men.
Another rally was scheduled to be held on April 6 by the villagers of Badraman, joined by human rights organizations, in front of the offices of the Attorney General in Cairo. After the rally the villagers planned to meet with the Attorney General to submit a report about the latest incidents, and to demand quick action to save them from the oppression they are experiencing at the hands of Ali Hussein and his gang.
Ten human rights organization staged a rally on March 30 in front of Attorney General’s offices to bring to public attention the tragedy of some nine thousand Coptic villagers living in terror since the end of January in the Upper Egyptian villages of Badraman and Nazlet Badraman in Deir Mawas, Minya.
rights activists and Badraman villagers were joined by attorney activist Peter elNaggar, who filed a complaint with the Attorney General against 34-year-old Muslim police informer Ali Hussein, nicknamed “Holaku” after the ruthless Mongol leader.
AINA said Hussein was accused of terrorizing the Copts, raping their wives, kidnaping their children for ransom and extortion. Attorney elNaggar said that if proven, these charges are punishable by the death penalty.
Security forces were informed last January of the incidents in both villages, "but they just turned a blind eye," said Coptic activist Nader Shoukry, who publicized the story last week after registering all crimes against the Coptic villagers.
AINA said the terror started on Jan. 28, when Ali Hussein assaulted Copt Khalil Suweiha and his family. Suweiha filed a report with the police in Deir Mawas but was forced to drop the charges after being threatened with death by Hussein and his 200-man armed gang.
AINA said Hussein then started extorting money from Copts and attacking their homes. They all had to retract the police reports they filed against him after being threatened.
On Jan. 29, Hussein, broke into the house of another Copt (name withheld), and raped his wife and mother after being restrained by Hussein's men. AINA said according to activist Mariam Ragy, he was too frightened to report the crime to the police after being threatened that his children would be killed.
AINA said Alaa Yusuf Iskandar, 30, was kidnaped and his family paid a ransom of 200,000 Egyptian pounds to Hussein to set him free. Although the family reported the kidnaping to the police, no action was taken.
In addition, AINA said, Hanna Samuel had his 12-year old son kidnaped on March 8; the well to do Coptic family paid a ransom of nearly 500,000 Egyptian pounds to free their child.
According to Shoukry, AINA said, “Ali Hussein has set himself up as governor of the two villages despite the presence of two village mayors. He is practicing injustice and tyranny only against the Copts in the villages. He walks between Christian homes, carrying a weapon on his shoulder, followed by his brothers and cousins and more than fifty armed thugs from outside the villages.”
He added that Hussein and his gang declared that they are the government of the Copts.
The incidents of extortion, looting, crop destruction and kidnaping children for ransom have become so prevalent many families have left the villages as they have no more money to give him.
“His despotism and tyranny reached the extent of imposing a curfew on the Copts from six o'clock in the evening to seven o'clock in the morning. Any Copt daring to break the curfew is beaten up and terrorized,” AINA reported Shoukry said.
On April 2, AINA said, Ali Hussein forced 23 Coptic villagers to go with him to Cairo to the offices of the Attorney General to withdraw their complaints against him, which they had filed on March 30. He detained their children to make sure they would follow his orders.
When they arrived in Cairo the offices of the Attorney General were closed, so Hussein brought the Copts to several newspapers to say the Copts and Muslims live in harmony on Badraman. Only the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram published his story.
AINA said on the morning of April 3, police and army forces stormed the village to arrest Hussein and his gang, but he was tipped off and he and most of his gang fled beforehand. Only a few members of his gang were arrested. The police stayed only three hours in the villages before withdrawing, leaving the Coptic villagers again at the mercy of a furious Ali Hussein.
Since then, AINA said, Hussein has been assaulting the Copts in the villages to force the army to release the members of his gang who were arrested on Sunday.
On April 4 the villagers appealed to Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi to urgently rescue them from the oppression of Ali Hussein, who is holding them as hostages in the village until the release of his men.
Another rally was scheduled to be held on April 6 by the villagers of Badraman, joined by human rights organizations, in front of the offices of the Attorney General in Cairo. After the rally the villagers planned to meet with the Attorney General to submit a report about the latest incidents, and to demand quick action to save them from the oppression they are experiencing at the hands of Ali Hussein and his gang.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Christian-Muslim clashes in Egypt kill 11
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muslim-Christian clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo have killed 11 people and wounded more than 90, security and hospital officials said on Wednesday.
The clashes broke out Tuesday night when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church last week. Muslims torched the church amid an escalation of tensions between the two religious groups over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple's families.
The officials said Wednesday that the killed were six Christians and five Muslims, all died from gunshot wounds. They said 94 people were wounded - 73 Muslims and 21 Christians.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes added to a sense of ongoing chaos in Egypt after the momentous 18-day democracy uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11. The uprising left a security vacuum when police have pulled out from Cairo and several other cities three days into the uprising.
The police have yet to fully take back the streets, something that has left space for a wave of violent crime and lawlessness in some parts of the nation.
The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks. An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours.
Muslim-Christian clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo have killed 11 people and wounded more than 90, security and hospital officials said on Wednesday.
The clashes broke out Tuesday night when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church last week. Muslims torched the church amid an escalation of tensions between the two religious groups over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple's families.
The officials said Wednesday that the killed were six Christians and five Muslims, all died from gunshot wounds. They said 94 people were wounded - 73 Muslims and 21 Christians.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes added to a sense of ongoing chaos in Egypt after the momentous 18-day democracy uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11. The uprising left a security vacuum when police have pulled out from Cairo and several other cities three days into the uprising.
The police have yet to fully take back the streets, something that has left space for a wave of violent crime and lawlessness in some parts of the nation.
The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks. An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours.
Kill all the Christians, local imam tells villagers
COMPASSDIRECT
Islamic Mob Burns Down Church in Egypt
A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to "Kill all the Christians," according to local sources.
The attack started on Friday evening (March 4) in the village of Sool, located in the city of Helwan 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Cairo, and lasted through most of Saturday. A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had "no right" to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.
The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like "hatred."
"I was in the attack, but I can’t describe it," he said. "The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard – I can’t describe it, how horrible it was."
According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts – most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution – then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.
After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.
"They destroyed the church completely," he said. "All that was left is a few columns and things like that. As a building, it’s all gone."
Islamic Mob Burns Down Church in Egypt
A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to "Kill all the Christians," according to local sources.
The attack started on Friday evening (March 4) in the village of Sool, located in the city of Helwan 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Cairo, and lasted through most of Saturday. A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had "no right" to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.
The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like "hatred."
"I was in the attack, but I can’t describe it," he said. "The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard – I can’t describe it, how horrible it was."
According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts – most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution – then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.
After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.
"They destroyed the church completely," he said. "All that was left is a few columns and things like that. As a building, it’s all gone."
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Jihad on Ethiopia
CHRISTIANPOST
At least one Christian was killed and others injured when thousands of Islamic extremists set fire to 59 churches and at least 28 homes in western Ethiopia in the past five days, Christian leaders said.
More than 4,000 Christians in and around Asendabo, Jimma Zone have been displaced as a result of attacks that began on Wednesday (March 2) after Muslims accused a Christian of desecrating the Quran by tearing up a copy, sources said.
“The atrocity is still going on, and more people are suffering,” said a source in Addis Ababa who is in close contact with area church leaders.
The Christian killed, believed to have been a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, has not yet been identified.
“One Orthodox believer, whose daughter is a member of Mekane Yesus Church, has been killed,” an Ethiopian church leader told Compass. “Ministers were injured, and many more believers have been displaced.”
A pastor based in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa noted that evangelical church leaders have reported the attacks to authorities and asked officials for help, but no action had been taken at press time.
“The church requested more police protection,” he said. “The authorities sent security forces, but they were overwhelmed by the attackers.”
After the destruction began at Asendabo, it spread to Chiltie, Gilgel Gibe, Gibe, Nada, Dimtu, Uragay, Busa and Koticha, as Muslim mobs in the thousands rampaged throughout the area, sources said.
“Police at the site are not taking any action – they just watch what is happening,” said another source. “It is difficult to estimate the attack in terms of deaths, since we have no access to any location.”
Those displaced are in shelters in Ako, Jimma, Dimtu and Derbo, he said.
“We are very concerned that the attack that began on March 2 in Asendabo, which is the rural part of Jimma, is now heading to Jimma town,” he said.
The extremists also destroyed an Ethiopian Kale Hiwot Church (EKHC) Bible school building and two church office buildings, the source said. Of the churches burned, he said, 38 belonged to the EKHC; 12 were Mekane Yesus buildings; six were Seventh-day Adventist structures; two were Muluwongel church buildings, and another belonged to a “Jesus Only” congregation.
“Women and children are the most affected in this sudden attack,” he said. “It is needless to mention the believers’ houses and properties burned down. The overall estimated cost, may be worth over 60 million birr [US$3.55 million].”
Anti-Christian attacks in western Ethiopia in 2006 killed at least 24 people.
“Attacks on the church have been a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia like Jimma and Jijiga,” the source said, adding that Christians are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
Asendabo, in Oromia Region, is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Addis Ababa.
At least one Christian was killed and others injured when thousands of Islamic extremists set fire to 59 churches and at least 28 homes in western Ethiopia in the past five days, Christian leaders said.
More than 4,000 Christians in and around Asendabo, Jimma Zone have been displaced as a result of attacks that began on Wednesday (March 2) after Muslims accused a Christian of desecrating the Quran by tearing up a copy, sources said.
“The atrocity is still going on, and more people are suffering,” said a source in Addis Ababa who is in close contact with area church leaders.
The Christian killed, believed to have been a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, has not yet been identified.
“One Orthodox believer, whose daughter is a member of Mekane Yesus Church, has been killed,” an Ethiopian church leader told Compass. “Ministers were injured, and many more believers have been displaced.”
A pastor based in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa noted that evangelical church leaders have reported the attacks to authorities and asked officials for help, but no action had been taken at press time.
“The church requested more police protection,” he said. “The authorities sent security forces, but they were overwhelmed by the attackers.”
After the destruction began at Asendabo, it spread to Chiltie, Gilgel Gibe, Gibe, Nada, Dimtu, Uragay, Busa and Koticha, as Muslim mobs in the thousands rampaged throughout the area, sources said.
“Police at the site are not taking any action – they just watch what is happening,” said another source. “It is difficult to estimate the attack in terms of deaths, since we have no access to any location.”
Those displaced are in shelters in Ako, Jimma, Dimtu and Derbo, he said.
“We are very concerned that the attack that began on March 2 in Asendabo, which is the rural part of Jimma, is now heading to Jimma town,” he said.
The extremists also destroyed an Ethiopian Kale Hiwot Church (EKHC) Bible school building and two church office buildings, the source said. Of the churches burned, he said, 38 belonged to the EKHC; 12 were Mekane Yesus buildings; six were Seventh-day Adventist structures; two were Muluwongel church buildings, and another belonged to a “Jesus Only” congregation.
“Women and children are the most affected in this sudden attack,” he said. “It is needless to mention the believers’ houses and properties burned down. The overall estimated cost, may be worth over 60 million birr [US$3.55 million].”
Anti-Christian attacks in western Ethiopia in 2006 killed at least 24 people.
“Attacks on the church have been a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia like Jimma and Jijiga,” the source said, adding that Christians are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
Asendabo, in Oromia Region, is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Addis Ababa.
Muslims against Christians
Muslim extremists attack Christian worshipers in their churches all over the world on daily basis. These massacres result in killing innocent men, women and children while sleeping, praying or going to school.
The acts of pre-meditated massacres committed by Muslim extremists against Christians in the Muslim world, has become a phenomenon that needs to be addressed by all nations where Muslims live, by the United Nations, in particular.
The doctrine of abrogation gives license to Muslim extremists to persecute non-Muslims. From the beginning, Islam regarded both Christians and Jews as second-class citizens. Time and again, the Muslim texts, which are represented in the Quran and the second source of the Islamic law, known as the "Hadith" (sayings of the Prophet) and "Sunnah" (deeds of the Prophet), assert the intention of humiliating Christians and Jews. Never was a Christian or a Jew to be left in doubt about his inferior status. And it must be said that, on the whole, Christian communities were massacred and their churches were taken away and turned into mosques; to add insult to injury, Christian men and women were forced to wear special garments in order to identify themselves in public as "dhimmi", i.e. the insulted community.
History of persecutions of Christians and Jews under Islamic Sharia has been going on since the early Islamic invasion of the Middle East in the seventh century. During the reign of al-Mutawakkil (847-61), a wave of anti-dhimmi (anti-Christian) feeling swept the Middle East. The Calipha, Barhebraeus (d. 1286) reports, "was a hater of the Christians, and afflicted them by ordering them to bind bandlets of wool round their heads; and none of them was to appear outside his house without a belt and girdle. And the new churches were to be pulled down. And if they should happen to have a spacious church, even though it was ancient, one part of it was to be made into a mosque.
The Massacres of Armenians in 1915, which killed more than 1.5 million Christian Armenians in Turkey, in addition to half a million Syriac Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Assyrians (i.e. the Church of the East), Chaldeans and other Christian minorities, who were massacred by the Muslim Turks and Kurds in the region of Tur 'Abdin in Southeast Turkey, is a reminder to what extent Muslim extremists can do to annihilate Christians, Jews and Hindus, if they have power and the upper hand.
In Sudan, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Janjaweed, the Arab Muslim forces in northern Sudan since 1984. (Source, Wikipedia).
In Gaza, under the auspices of Hamas, Christian citizens, Christian establishments and religious institutions are singled out and attacked by Muslim extremists belonging to the Islamic Hamas movement.
Saudi Arabia regularly imprisons Christians from other nations. Christians are arrested and lashed for practicing their faith in public. No one is allowed to be a citizen in this nation unless he or she is Muslim. Prayer services by Christians are broken up by the police, and people who convert to Christianity are often arrested and may be sentenced to death.
Every single state in the Arab League, except Lebanon, inserted in their constitutions provisions indicating that "Islam is the religion of the state"; or " the laws of the state must be based on Islamic Sharia"; or the "president must be Muslim". All these provisions in the constitutions of the Muslim countries demonstrate disrespect and discrimination against the original Christian inhabitants of these states. Such provisions encourage Muslim states and individuals to commit acts of violence and murder against the Christian minorities. Such constitutional provisions make it possible for fanatic parties to flourish and instigate riots and violence against the Christian minorities as we see in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Indonesia, and other Muslim nations.
The Arab league (consists of twenty-two Arab states) holds meetings to discuss issues related the Middle East, or involving Islam. The Arab league refuses to meet or discuss the execution of Christians and other minorities living in its Member States.
Arab Heads of States and their foreign ministers meet on a regular basis to discuss policies related to the Middle East. So far not a single meeting was held to discuss the persecution of the Christians living in their states.
The acts of pre-meditated massacres committed by Muslim extremists against Christians in the Muslim world, has become a phenomenon that needs to be addressed by all nations where Muslims live, by the United Nations, in particular.
The doctrine of abrogation gives license to Muslim extremists to persecute non-Muslims. From the beginning, Islam regarded both Christians and Jews as second-class citizens. Time and again, the Muslim texts, which are represented in the Quran and the second source of the Islamic law, known as the "Hadith" (sayings of the Prophet) and "Sunnah" (deeds of the Prophet), assert the intention of humiliating Christians and Jews. Never was a Christian or a Jew to be left in doubt about his inferior status. And it must be said that, on the whole, Christian communities were massacred and their churches were taken away and turned into mosques; to add insult to injury, Christian men and women were forced to wear special garments in order to identify themselves in public as "dhimmi", i.e. the insulted community.
History of persecutions of Christians and Jews under Islamic Sharia has been going on since the early Islamic invasion of the Middle East in the seventh century. During the reign of al-Mutawakkil (847-61), a wave of anti-dhimmi (anti-Christian) feeling swept the Middle East. The Calipha, Barhebraeus (d. 1286) reports, "was a hater of the Christians, and afflicted them by ordering them to bind bandlets of wool round their heads; and none of them was to appear outside his house without a belt and girdle. And the new churches were to be pulled down. And if they should happen to have a spacious church, even though it was ancient, one part of it was to be made into a mosque.
The Massacres of Armenians in 1915, which killed more than 1.5 million Christian Armenians in Turkey, in addition to half a million Syriac Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Assyrians (i.e. the Church of the East), Chaldeans and other Christian minorities, who were massacred by the Muslim Turks and Kurds in the region of Tur 'Abdin in Southeast Turkey, is a reminder to what extent Muslim extremists can do to annihilate Christians, Jews and Hindus, if they have power and the upper hand.
In Sudan, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Janjaweed, the Arab Muslim forces in northern Sudan since 1984. (Source, Wikipedia).
In Gaza, under the auspices of Hamas, Christian citizens, Christian establishments and religious institutions are singled out and attacked by Muslim extremists belonging to the Islamic Hamas movement.
Saudi Arabia regularly imprisons Christians from other nations. Christians are arrested and lashed for practicing their faith in public. No one is allowed to be a citizen in this nation unless he or she is Muslim. Prayer services by Christians are broken up by the police, and people who convert to Christianity are often arrested and may be sentenced to death.
Every single state in the Arab League, except Lebanon, inserted in their constitutions provisions indicating that "Islam is the religion of the state"; or " the laws of the state must be based on Islamic Sharia"; or the "president must be Muslim". All these provisions in the constitutions of the Muslim countries demonstrate disrespect and discrimination against the original Christian inhabitants of these states. Such provisions encourage Muslim states and individuals to commit acts of violence and murder against the Christian minorities. Such constitutional provisions make it possible for fanatic parties to flourish and instigate riots and violence against the Christian minorities as we see in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Indonesia, and other Muslim nations.
The Arab league (consists of twenty-two Arab states) holds meetings to discuss issues related the Middle East, or involving Islam. The Arab league refuses to meet or discuss the execution of Christians and other minorities living in its Member States.
Arab Heads of States and their foreign ministers meet on a regular basis to discuss policies related to the Middle East. So far not a single meeting was held to discuss the persecution of the Christians living in their states.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Egyptian armed forces fire at Christian monasteries, 19 Injured
For the second time in as many days, Egyptian armed force stormed the 5th century old St. Bishoy monastery in Wadi el-Natroun, 110 kilometers from Cairo. Live ammunition was fired, wounding two monks and six Coptic monastery workers. Several sources confirmed the army's use of RPG ammunition. Four people have been arrested including three monks and a Coptic lawyer who was at the monastery investigating yesterday's army attack.
Monk Aksios Ava Bishoy told activist Nader Shoukry of Freecopts the armed forces stormed the main entrance gate to the monastery in the morning using five tanks, armored vehicles and a bulldozer to demolish the fence built by the monastery last month to protect themselves and the monastery from the lawlessness which prevailed in Egypt during the January 25 Uprising.
"When we tried to address them, the army fired live bullets, wounding Father Feltaows in the leg and Father Barnabas in the abdomen," said Monk Ava Bishoy. "Six Coptic workers in the monastery were also injured, some with serious injuries to the chest."
The injured were rushed to the nearby Sadat Hospital, the ones in serious condition were transferred to the Anglo-Egyptian Hospital in Cairo.
Father Hemanot Ava Bishoy said the army fired live ammunition and RPGs continuously for 30 minutes, which hit part of the ancient fence inside the monastery. "The army was shocked to see the monks standing there praying 'Lord have mercy' without running away. This is what really upset them," he said. "As the soldiers were demolishing the gate and the fence they were chanting 'Allahu Akbar' and 'Victory, Victory'."
He also added that the army prevented the monastery's car from taking the injured to hospital.
MORE
Monk Aksios Ava Bishoy told activist Nader Shoukry of Freecopts the armed forces stormed the main entrance gate to the monastery in the morning using five tanks, armored vehicles and a bulldozer to demolish the fence built by the monastery last month to protect themselves and the monastery from the lawlessness which prevailed in Egypt during the January 25 Uprising.
"When we tried to address them, the army fired live bullets, wounding Father Feltaows in the leg and Father Barnabas in the abdomen," said Monk Ava Bishoy. "Six Coptic workers in the monastery were also injured, some with serious injuries to the chest."
The injured were rushed to the nearby Sadat Hospital, the ones in serious condition were transferred to the Anglo-Egyptian Hospital in Cairo.
Father Hemanot Ava Bishoy said the army fired live ammunition and RPGs continuously for 30 minutes, which hit part of the ancient fence inside the monastery. "The army was shocked to see the monks standing there praying 'Lord have mercy' without running away. This is what really upset them," he said. "As the soldiers were demolishing the gate and the fence they were chanting 'Allahu Akbar' and 'Victory, Victory'."
He also added that the army prevented the monastery's car from taking the injured to hospital.
MORE
Coptic Christian priest killed in Egypt
A Coptic Christian priest has been killed in southern Egypt, triggering street demonstrations by several thousand Christians.
The priest was found dead in his home. A fellow clergyman, Danoub Thabet, says his body had several stab wounds. He says neighbours reported seeing several masked men leaving the apartment and shouting "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," suggesting the killing was motivated by the divide between Egypt's Muslims and its minority Coptic community.
About 3,000 protesters scuffled with Muslim shop owners Tuesday night and smashed the windows of a police car in the city, Assiut.
Egypt's religious tension spiked in January when a suicide bomber killed 21 people outside a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria. Days of protests followed.
The priest was found dead in his home. A fellow clergyman, Danoub Thabet, says his body had several stab wounds. He says neighbours reported seeing several masked men leaving the apartment and shouting "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," suggesting the killing was motivated by the divide between Egypt's Muslims and its minority Coptic community.
About 3,000 protesters scuffled with Muslim shop owners Tuesday night and smashed the windows of a police car in the city, Assiut.
Egypt's religious tension spiked in January when a suicide bomber killed 21 people outside a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria. Days of protests followed.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Weapons hidden in Nigerian mosques
Numerous weapons and mercenaries point to plans awaiting a triggering incident.
Christian leaders in Bauchi state said religious violence here sparked by a row over a billiards table on Jan. 27 bore signs that Muslim extremists were prepared for a large-scale slaughter of Christians.
Initially authorities said only 18 people were killed after sectarian violence erupted in the areas of Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro, where there are large Christian populations in predominantly Muslim Bauchi state in northern Nigeria. Since then, estimates have ranged wildly from 25 to 96 people killed over a three-day period starting Jan. 27, with Christian leaders asserting that Muslim extremists used the billiards table incident as a pretext for unleashing attacks with a stockpile of weapons hidden in mosques.
MORE
Christian leaders in Bauchi state said religious violence here sparked by a row over a billiards table on Jan. 27 bore signs that Muslim extremists were prepared for a large-scale slaughter of Christians.
Initially authorities said only 18 people were killed after sectarian violence erupted in the areas of Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro, where there are large Christian populations in predominantly Muslim Bauchi state in northern Nigeria. Since then, estimates have ranged wildly from 25 to 96 people killed over a three-day period starting Jan. 27, with Christian leaders asserting that Muslim extremists used the billiards table incident as a pretext for unleashing attacks with a stockpile of weapons hidden in mosques.
MORE
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Egypt – Democracy for whom?
CHRISTIAN POST
In a recent column, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times proclaimed that “today we are all Egyptians!” Well, hyperbole aside, it’s easy to be inspired, even carried away by the images coming from Cairo. And images are all most Americans have to go by.
After all, who isn’t for democracy? What well-meaning person wouldn’t prefer to see an autocrat and his family leave power?
Unfortunately, those aren’t the only considerations. It’s far from certain that what follows the reign of soon-to-be ex-president Mubarak will be democratic in any sense you or I would recognize.
As we have learned the hard way in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, deposing a dictatorship is a lot easier than creating a democracy. Places that have no tradition or experience of democratic rule often wind up replacing one kind of despotism for another. Or, the brutal order of tyranny is replaced with the tyranny of chaos and disorder.
While Egypt, thanks to its military, may not descend into Iraq-like chaos and mass killings, it has no history of the kind of traditions we associate with democracy--traditions that themselves spring from Western Christendom and the Christian worldview.
Democracy is about more than elections: as Yale law professor Amy Chua described in her book World on Fire, elections in many countries are a preface for oppression. The majority, finally getting a chance at running things, decides that the first order of business is to persecute and deprive a despised minority.
In Egypt, that despised minority are Coptic Christians. For the Copts, whose ancestors debated the Trinity long before ours even heard of Christ, discrimination and harassment are the best they can reasonably expect from the Muslim majority.
The sad truth is that while Mubarak can’t be called a “friend” of the Copts, he at least tried to reign in his and their common enemy: the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is the original and still most influential Islamist group in the world. Its progeny include al-Qaeda and Hamas.
While the Brotherhood has participated in the electoral process, it’s with an eye to creating an Islamic republic at the center of the Arab world. To call the Brotherhood a force for democracy is insane-and dangerous.
In its vision of a society where the Qur’an is the “sole reference point” for the ordering of family and social life, there is no room for the Copts. The Brotherhood has been implicated in the burning of churches, seminaries and Copt-owned businesses, as well as the murder of Coptic Christians.
All of this makes talk about “democracy” in Egypt and “everyone being an Egyptian” a bit premature. It’s not at all clear whether Copts, whose ancestors have lived there since time immemorial, would be recognized as “Egyptians” in a new government.
This isn’t to say Mubarak ought to be propped up. As Johns Hopkins’ Fouad Ajami put it, Mubarak is a pharaoh whose time is over.
The real question is, who and what will replace him? As Christians, we ought to pray for peace in Egypt and for a transition to true democracy-as difficult as that is, it’s a transition that indeed, requires divine intervention.
In a recent column, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times proclaimed that “today we are all Egyptians!” Well, hyperbole aside, it’s easy to be inspired, even carried away by the images coming from Cairo. And images are all most Americans have to go by.
After all, who isn’t for democracy? What well-meaning person wouldn’t prefer to see an autocrat and his family leave power?
Unfortunately, those aren’t the only considerations. It’s far from certain that what follows the reign of soon-to-be ex-president Mubarak will be democratic in any sense you or I would recognize.
As we have learned the hard way in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, deposing a dictatorship is a lot easier than creating a democracy. Places that have no tradition or experience of democratic rule often wind up replacing one kind of despotism for another. Or, the brutal order of tyranny is replaced with the tyranny of chaos and disorder.
While Egypt, thanks to its military, may not descend into Iraq-like chaos and mass killings, it has no history of the kind of traditions we associate with democracy--traditions that themselves spring from Western Christendom and the Christian worldview.
Democracy is about more than elections: as Yale law professor Amy Chua described in her book World on Fire, elections in many countries are a preface for oppression. The majority, finally getting a chance at running things, decides that the first order of business is to persecute and deprive a despised minority.
In Egypt, that despised minority are Coptic Christians. For the Copts, whose ancestors debated the Trinity long before ours even heard of Christ, discrimination and harassment are the best they can reasonably expect from the Muslim majority.
The sad truth is that while Mubarak can’t be called a “friend” of the Copts, he at least tried to reign in his and their common enemy: the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is the original and still most influential Islamist group in the world. Its progeny include al-Qaeda and Hamas.
While the Brotherhood has participated in the electoral process, it’s with an eye to creating an Islamic republic at the center of the Arab world. To call the Brotherhood a force for democracy is insane-and dangerous.
In its vision of a society where the Qur’an is the “sole reference point” for the ordering of family and social life, there is no room for the Copts. The Brotherhood has been implicated in the burning of churches, seminaries and Copt-owned businesses, as well as the murder of Coptic Christians.
All of this makes talk about “democracy” in Egypt and “everyone being an Egyptian” a bit premature. It’s not at all clear whether Copts, whose ancestors have lived there since time immemorial, would be recognized as “Egyptians” in a new government.
This isn’t to say Mubarak ought to be propped up. As Johns Hopkins’ Fouad Ajami put it, Mubarak is a pharaoh whose time is over.
The real question is, who and what will replace him? As Christians, we ought to pray for peace in Egypt and for a transition to true democracy-as difficult as that is, it’s a transition that indeed, requires divine intervention.
Nine dead in latest attacks on Christians in Nigeria
At least nine people, including three children, have been killed in a series of attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State.
Eye witnesses report that men dressed in military uniforms carried out targeted attacks on three homes at the Federal College of Land Resources in Kuru on February 10.
According to a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, gunmen entered the first home and shot dead Chube Job, his wife Susan and their young daughter Emmanuella.
In the next home, a man identified only as Gideon and another man identified only as Hosea were shot dead.
Gideon’s daughter, named only as Alice, said: “At about 7pm we heard gunshots and my father came out. We told him not to go out but he went out to call my brother, who was standing outside with another man [Hosea]. The men barged in, shouting, ‘Here he is, get him!’ And they shot them.”
Alice’s brother was shot in the neck during the attack and remains in hospital.
Gunmen proceeded to enter a third house, shooting one man who survived his injuries. The attackers also fired at the couple’s car and set a bus on fire.
Eye witnesses report that the attackers set the houses on fire with a blow torch and stole 30 cows belonging to Mr Job.
A second attack was launched two days later on Shekan village in Jos South, in which an elderly woman was beheaded and two of her grandchildren murdered. A man was killed in a further attack in the village by unknown assailants.
MORE
Eye witnesses report that men dressed in military uniforms carried out targeted attacks on three homes at the Federal College of Land Resources in Kuru on February 10.
According to a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, gunmen entered the first home and shot dead Chube Job, his wife Susan and their young daughter Emmanuella.
In the next home, a man identified only as Gideon and another man identified only as Hosea were shot dead.
Gideon’s daughter, named only as Alice, said: “At about 7pm we heard gunshots and my father came out. We told him not to go out but he went out to call my brother, who was standing outside with another man [Hosea]. The men barged in, shouting, ‘Here he is, get him!’ And they shot them.”
Alice’s brother was shot in the neck during the attack and remains in hospital.
Gunmen proceeded to enter a third house, shooting one man who survived his injuries. The attackers also fired at the couple’s car and set a bus on fire.
Eye witnesses report that the attackers set the houses on fire with a blow torch and stole 30 cows belonging to Mr Job.
A second attack was launched two days later on Shekan village in Jos South, in which an elderly woman was beheaded and two of her grandchildren murdered. A man was killed in a further attack in the village by unknown assailants.
MORE
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