In this mailing:
- Raymond Ibrahim: He Simply "Hates Christians": The Persecution of Christians: January, 2020
- Uzay Bulut: Turkey: Pressures, Attacks, and Discrimination against Christians
- Amir Taheri: Uncertainty in a Bleak Moment
by Raymond Ibrahim • March 29, 2020 at 5:00 am
Boko Haram... released another execution video. In it, a masked Muslim child holding a pistol appears standing behind a bound and kneeling hostage, later identified as Ropvil Daciya Dalep, a 22-year-old Christian... kidnapped on January 9 while traveling to his university, where he majored in biology. After chanting in Arabic and launching into an anti-Christian diatribe, the Muslim child proceeds to shoot Ropvil several times in the back of the head. — Independent Catholic News, January 23, 2020; Nigeria. On January 2, Islamic gunmen abducted Reverend Lawan Andimi, a pastor ... in Nigeria. After the terrorists demanded an exorbitant ransom for his release—two million euros, which his church and family simply could not raise—they beheaded the married father-of-nine.... — Morning Star News, January 21, 2020; Nigeria. "Since the government and its apologists are claiming the killings have no religious undertones, why are the terrorists and herdsmen targeting the predominantly Christian communities and Christian leaders?" — The International Center for Investigative Reporting, January 21, 2020; Nigeria. After Muhammad 'Awad, 32, was arrested and questioned as to why he tried to murder Rafiq Karam, 56, he confessed that he did not know him, but that he simply "hates Christians." — Coptic Solidarity, January 21, 2020; Egypt.
On January 2, the Boko Haram terrorist group abducted Reverend Lawan Andimi, a pastor and district chairman of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, who was married with 9 children. After demanding two million euros ransom, which his church and family could not raise, they beheaded Andimi on January 20. Pictured: A screenshot from a video released by Boko Haram on January 5, with the abducted Reverend Lawan Andimi speaking in front of the camera.
The Slaughter of Christians in Nigeria During several separate incidents, militant Muslims—whether Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, or generic terrorists—continued to attack and massacre several Christians. On Friday, January 17, for instance, Muslim Fulani tribesmen on motorbikes raided a Christian village at a time they knew people were congregating in the village square where Christian fellowship often took place. They then opened fire. "As the people fled into nearby bushes to take cover, the attackers retreated and left," an area resident said. "We are sad about these attacks on our people, which seem to be unending." Two young Christian girls—Briget Philip, 18, and Priscilla David, 19—were killed, and at least three other teenagers were seriously wounded.
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by Uzay Bulut • March 29, 2020 at 4:30 am
When Protestants introduce themselves to the authorities as a church, they receive warnings that they are not legal and may be closed down. In 2019, however, many members of the foreign clergy, as well as church members, were deported, refused residence permits, or denied entry visas into Turkey -- as in previous years. Some textbooks also target Christian communities. "Missionary Activity" continues to be a heading under the section related to "National Threats" in the eighth grade elementary school textbook entitled, Revolutionary History and Kemalism. This teaching continues to be referenced in supplementary textbooks and tests related to missionary activity being considered a "national threat".
On September 6, in the Akçaabat district of Trabzon province, the fronts of several buildings built for tourists were demolished as a result of complaints that their design resembled a cross. Pictured: The shore at Akçaabat, Turkey. (Image source: Sinan Şahin/Wikimedia Commons)
Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches has released its 2019 "Human Rights Violations Report" detailing the state of religious freedom in the country. The report sheds light on problems Protestant Christians faced in Turkey in 2019. These included barring foreign Protestants from entering Turkey for no other reason than their faith, as well as the inability of Christians to train their own religious workers. One major difficulty for Protestant Christians in Turkey is that the Protestant community is not recognized as a legal entity.
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by Amir Taheri • March 29, 2020 at 4:00 am
Uncertainty may also be affecting politics in Iran, where the "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei may have slowed down his bid for exclusive hold on power, in the hope that Hassan Rouhani, the hapless president, will end up carrying the can for the disaster caused by the pandemic. On positive note, the pandemic may have slowed down India's tragic rush towards a major Hindu-Muslim civil war that threatened to tear its democracy apart. If the best we hoped for a few months ago didn't happen, there is no reason why the worst that we now fear may come to pass. The beauty of uncertainty is that it works both ways.
(Image source: iStock)
Regardless of its denouement, the current coronavirus crisis may end up affecting the authority of the political, economic, media and scientific elites who shape world public opinion. The function of the elites, and their clam to legitimacy, has been linked to their ability to create certainty, in defiance of all and sundry Cassandras. However, the current crisis, which struck like thunder out of the blue, has reasserted the evanescence, even the uncertainty, of human affairs. Just a few weeks ago the received wisdom was that stock exchanges will continue to move upwards while US President Donald J. Trump would sail to a second term and the post-Brexit European Union would settle for a period of anemic growth on the edge of recession. Globally, the elites peddled the certainty of business as usual.
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