Islamic Reciprocity: a 'war on Christianity'

Having started out with the title of this dossier, calling for Christian-Islamic reciprocity, the Pope has now seen necessary to ask for the protection of Christians. The perpetrators of this outrage may be Al Qaeda, which recently is supposed to have called for a 'war on Christians' in order to bring the clash of civilizations forward -

RFI: "Pope calls on world leaders to defend Christians after church bloodbath"

A car bomb killed 21 people and wounded 79 in Alexandria early on Saturday. The New Year’s Day attack hit the Al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church shortly after midnight. Pope Benedict XVI has urged world leader’s to protect Christians against “discrimination, abuse and religious intolerance”. The explosives-packed car blew up at 12:30am local time just as church-goers began leaving after an evening service. (...) >>>

Jan. 1, 2011
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Are we NUTS?! - On the day we learn the EU wants Greece to spend European tax payers' money (awkward auto translation) to build two mosques for illegals (Geert Wilders asking questions in Parliament), this news is breaking -

Therese Zrihen-Dvir: Turkish Cypriot ‘Grinches’ Steal Christmas, Stop Holiday Liturgy"

Turkish forces in the occupied area of Karpasia in Northern Cyprus have presented a new challenge regarding the celebration of Christmas by Christians living in the territory. For the first time in 36 years Christians trapped in the occupied area were forbidden from celebrating Christmas.

On Christmas morning, Saturday 25 December 2010, Father Zacharias and a large number of people went to the Church of Saint Sinesios in Rizokarpaso (photo) to begin Matins for Christmas. Meanwhile men of the occupied forces rushed to the church, interrupted the service, urged the priest to remove his vestments, and ordered everyone leave the church. When everyone had left, the doors were sealed. The same happened in (...) >>>

Dec. 29, 2010
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The killing of Christians continues -

TWT: "Crucifying Christians on Christmas - The faithful face persecution in many Muslim lands"

On Saturday, the world's Christians will join in prayer and celebration of the birth of Jesus. For too many of them, this worshipful act will take place under the threat of imprisonment, torture or execution. "Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith," Pope Benedict XVI wrote in the Vatican's annual Peace Day message. The pontiff chose not to single out the most notable perpetrators of this persecution, but previous Vatican statements and numerous human rights surveys point the finger at Muslim-majority countries. In most of them, Islam is the official state religion and source of law.

In those places, there is no appreciation for the Western practice of freedom of worship. Indeed, free exercise is the very thing that can lead to violence. (...) The case of Asia Bibi - a 45-year-old Pakistani Christian mother of five sentenced to death in November for allegedly blaspheming against Muhammad - has gained wide press attention. Less noticed is the case of the Rev. Wilson Augustine, a 25-year-old Pakistani Christian evangelist who was beaten with clubs and belts and set on fire for preaching the Gospel in villages near the town of Sargodha. In Egypt, there is rising violence against members of the ancient Coptic Christian community, which existed in the country centuries before Islam was founded (...) >>>

Dec. 26, 2010
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Saving Iraq's last Christians -

CNSNews: "Iraqi Christians Seek Western Help Amid Wave of ‘Religious Cleansing'", by Patrick Goodenough"

Iraqi Christian leaders are lobbying European lawmakers Tuesday as part of an international campaign aimed at getting Western governments to take the minority’s predicament seriously. Advocates argue that members of the U.S.-led coalition that toppled Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in 2003 have a particular responsibility to put pressure on today’s Iraqi leaders to provide security for Christians directly targeted by terrorists. (...) >>>

Dec. 14, 2010
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Evidence from 'tolerant' Indonesia -

Jihad Watch: "Indonesia: Muslims oppose building of churches"

Why no hand-wringing about "tolerance" and "religious freedom"? Of course, in Indonesia few people are concerned about such things, and if anyone makes a comparison with the resistance to the construction of Islamic supremacist mosques in the U.S., someone will be quick to pipe up and say, "Are you saying that the U.S. should imitate Indonesia (or Saudi Arabia, etc.) in its intolerance?"

Of course not. The differences in the two situations need to pointed out and brought to public attention. Non-Muslims oppose the mosque at Ground Zero because it will be regarded in the Islamic world as a triumphal mosque, and because of the duplicity of its organizers. (...) >>>

Oct. 14, 2010
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'Ordinary' crime turns religious mania case after all - The Pope just before leaving on a trip to Cyprus played down the slaying of the Roman Catholic prelate in Turkey as an 'ordinary' crime committed by his psychotic driver. Turns out it was an act of Jihad after all. Why do we keep exculpating these religious maniacs?

News24: "Turkish Catholic leader beheaded"

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Turkey, killed last week by his driver, was decapitated in a "ritual Muslim sacrifice," the head of a missionary news agency said on Tuesday. After the murder of Luigi Padovese, the driver reportedly shouted from the roof of the victim's house that he had killed the "great Satan," adding Allah akbar ("God Is Great"), a Turkish journalist told AsiaNews.

The news agency for overseas missionaries said Padovese "was stabbed in his home, and managed to leave his home to ask for help," AsiaNews director Bernardo Cervellera told Italy's Sky TG24 all-news television channel. Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi, contacted by the religious news agency I-media, said he was awaiting clarification of the reports but would neither deny nor confirm them.

Turkish news reports said the 26-year-old alleged killer, Murat Altun, had been released from a psychiatric ward a few days before the murder. He told police he had had a "divine revelation," the reports said. (...) >>>

Jun 11, 2010
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Patriarch is pondering taking Turks to Human Rights Court -

ANA: "Alternatives for Halki Seminary"

The creation of a Theological Seminary in Alexandroupolis or another area in Greece close in proximity to Istanbul, and recourse to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, are a few of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's options in the Halki School of Theology is not reopened, as repeatedly promised by the Turkish government, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said on Saturday in reply to questions by Turkish reporters. (...) >>>

Apr 11, 2010
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Israeli democracy at work -

Image of the Knesset by hoyasmeg via Flickr

Arutz Sheva: "Islamic Movement Approved in Israel, Barred by Jordan", by Maayana Miskin

While Israel allowed the radical Islamic Movement to operate openly and even allows its members to sit in the Knesset, Jordan has apparently decided that the extremist group is a threat it is unwilling to tolerate. Jordan recently turned away a senior Islamic Movement official who attempted to visit the country, and has barred access to several others as well. Among those Islamic Movement leaders deemed too radical for Jordan are the head of the movement's northern branch, Sheikh Raed Salah, and his deputy, Khamel Hatib. Several other senior members of the group have been barred from the country as well. (...) >>>

Apr 10, 2010
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I's the season of peace pieces -

From Islam for Christmas this year, a Fatwa, a botched terror attack, and then there's this:

While Mosques are going up all over the Western world, Churches are also going up in the Muslim world, in smoke - that is:

Since Christmas, in Egypt where Copts are again the target. In Malaysia in the "Allah" Court decision. In Indonesia, where there more more reports last week, which since have mysteriously disappeared from the radar.

Jan. 10, 2010
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The Media Line: "‘Anti-Christmas’ Fatwa Troubles Egyptians", by Rachelle Kliger

Islamic ruling forbidding Muslims to participate in Christmas celebrations or mark the holiday is troubling Egypt’s Christians. The call, which is being described as a fatwa, or Islamic decree, came from Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, an influential firebrand cleric criticized in the West for his controversial rulings. (...) Christians contacted by The Media Line said they were unaware the fatwa had affected the celebrations or the Christmas revenues, but did express concern over the wider ramifications the fatwa may have on Christian minorities in Egypt and elsewhere. In a Friday sermon, Al-Qaradawi criticized public celebrations of Christmas in Qatar and elsewhere in the Muslim world, claiming they undermined Islamic identity. “Such appearances are prohibited by Islam,” he said. (...) >>>

Dec. 24, 2009
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A Liberal Defence of Israel: "The One-way Street" - Hat Tip: Tom Carew

(...) there's something else more relevant to Obama's grasp of what a two-state 'solution' would really mean for Israel. It is this. A distinguishing feature of Islam from the beginning has been a commitment to Muslim supremacy. And that keen sense of superiority (to Jews, to Christians, to pagans, to atheists, to secularists) creates a one-way street. Thus, Muslims demand the implementation of shari'a law in Western countries, and some (like the UK) allow them to act on rulings from shari'a tribunals, in matters like marriage and divorce or childcare. But if a Westerner were to demand a reciprocal arrangement in, say, Saudi Arabia, they would soon find themselves on a one-way flight home or doing time in the local chokey. In the West, Muslim women demand the right to wear veils, even all-enveloping ones, everywhere they go, and, naturally, we grant them that freedom. But should a Western woman turn up on the streets of Tehran dressed as she might at home, it will only be a matter of minutes before one of the Blood of God patrols turns up in a white Toyota, grabs her, and pushed her into the minibus that will come behind them. No reciprocity.

From all sides come cries for Israel to do this or that. Demolish the 'apartheid wall', grant every Palestinian on earth the right of 'return', pack up and go home. But when Israel pulled out of Gaza, things only got worse. When Israelis hand back hundreds of terrorist prisoners, they will be lucky to get a couple of corpses in return. When Israel says it will recognize a peaceful Palestinian state, Mahmoud Abbas gets uppity and says he will never recognize a Jewish state. So everybody gets uppity, not with Abbas, but with Israel. Obama hasn't even mentioned that particularly dirty little trick. So what's a girl to do? (...) >>>

June 16, 2009
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Terrorism Awareness Center: "The Muslim Persecution of Christians"

Read also:

Honest Reporting: "Ignoring the Real Causes of Christian Exodus"

Time reporter blames Israel and the West for Muslim intolerance

May 13, 2009
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Muslim clerics on the other hand are demanding more subordination (way to go!):

Yahoo!News: "Pope urges Middle East Christians to persevere"

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged Middle East Christians to persevere in their faith despite hardships threatening the existence of their ancient communities. An estimated 20,000 people filled a Jordanian sports stadium as Benedict celebrated the first open-air Mass of his Middle Eastpilgrimage." The Catholic community here is deeply touched by the difficulties and uncertainties which affect the people of the Middle East," Benedict said, speaking in English, at the Amman stadium." May you never forget the great dignity which derives from your Christian heritage, or fail to sense the loving solidarity of all your brothers and sisters in the church throughout the world," he said. Catholics from across the Middle East are attending the service. Many held up flags from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries. They applauded the pope's words and shouted out his name. The Mass was on the third day of Benedict's weeklong pilgrimage (...) >>>

May 10, 2009
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And so it goes since the event of Mohamed:

Yahoo!News: "Pope arriving at time when Christians are leaving"

When Pope Benedict XVI comes to the Holy Land next week, he will greet a community of believers whose numbers are gradually eroding. Dwarfed by Jewish and Muslim populations, young Christians are increasingly leaving to seek their futures elsewhere, especially those in the Palestinian territories and east Jerusalem. (...) >>>

May 6, 2009
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Yahoo!News: "EU parliament head presses Arabs to allow churches"

EU Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering called on Arab governments on Tuesday to allow Christian churches to be built in their countries in the same way that mosques can be built in Europe. In Saudi Arabia, at the end of a tour of Gulf countries to boost cooperation between the two regions, Poettering said Arab governments need to be more tolerant of other religions. (...) >>>
Dec 25, 2008
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Memri: "Sa'd Eddin Ibrahim: The Muslims Should Learn Openness from the Catholic Church in France"

(...) Catholic Church Schools in France Accept Muslim Girls, Teach Them Islam, and Let Them Wear Hijab - "While we watch and read about sectarian strife and hostilities against Christians - the Copts in Egypt and the Catholics and Mandaeans in Iraq - the French press is celebrating a unique phenomenon [that took place] during this school year - namely, hundreds of Muslim girls attired in hijab enrolling in Catholic convent schools after being rejected by public schools for insisting on wearing a head covering. (...) >>>
Dec 10, 2008
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Dhimmi Watch: "A Russian church for a Saudi mosque?"

(...) The Saudis have recently asked permission to build a mosque in Moscow, a city where there are only four mosques and 2 million Muslims. The Russians, however, are saying they want, in return, an Orthodox church in Saudi Arabia. (...) >>>

Dec 5, 2008
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Times Online: "The UK "the best place in the world" to live as a Muslim?"

The UK - is it heaven or the reverse for a Muslim? Shahid Malik, who is Britain's first Muslim minister (for international development) says the UK is "the best place in the world" to live as a Muslim. In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Malik says: "I have visited so many countries and comparing ourselves to those countries, the rights and freedoms we enjoy in the UK are second to none, including Muslim countries." (...) >>>

Updated: 16th July 2008
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Memri: " Egyptian Writer Ahmad Al-Aswani: It's "Open Season" On Egypt's Copts"

Ahmad Al-Aswani, an Egyptian writer, writes extensively on political topics from a critical and reformist perspective. In the following essay, posted June 7, 2008 on the liberal website Aafaq.org, he focuses on the escalating series of physical attacks on members of the Coptic minority in Egypt. (...) >>>

Updated: 12th June 2008
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