Tag: Christianity

Kidnapped Nuns No Longer Bear the Cross

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by Raymond Ibrahim // World Magazine 

A new video of the twelve Christian nuns kidnapped in Syria recently appeared.  In it, the nuns are taped sitting in a room and being questionedSYRIA_-_Maaloula_sisters_n.2 by an unseen man, presumably a member of the kidnappers.  He asks them how they are, if they’ve been mistreated, etc.

They respond that they are being treated fine, that they very much look forward to being returned to their convent, that they heartily thank the world for its concern, and that they continually pray that God grant peace to all nations.

Their words say one thing, their expressions and demeanor another.  Put differently, as female captives of Islamic jihadis, what else could they say but what they were told to say?  (See, for example, how the nun in glasses had to be forced to face the camera at 1:46.)  Even if one of them dared to Continue reading “Kidnapped Nuns No Longer Bear the Cross” →

New York Times Biased Coverage on Muslim Persectution

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by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com 

The New York Times has finally found a victim of Islamic aggression in Nigeria worth reporting on: homosexuals.   In a big spread complete with pictures appearing last week, the NYT’s Adam Nossiter wrote “Wielding Whip and a Hard New Law, Nigeria Tries to ‘Sanitize’ Itself of Gays.” Continue reading “New York Times Biased Coverage on Muslim Persectution” →

U.S. “Chose to Stay Silent” on Muslim Persecution of Christians: November 2013

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by Raymond Ibrahim // Gatestone Institute 

The endemic rise of Christian persecution in the Middle East was noted in November when Pope Francis declared “We will not resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians” and stressed the importance of “the universal right to lead a dignified life and freely practice one’s own faith” after he met with patriarchs from Syria, Iran, and Iraq, all countries where Christian minorities are under attack. Continue reading “U.S. “Chose to Stay Silent” on Muslim Persecution of Christians: November 2013″ →

Al Qaeda: The Defender of Christians?

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by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com 

Muslim persecution of Christians is the “Achilles Heel” of the global Islamic movement’s RTX6E0Timage—the surest way of exposing its supremacist and intolerant elements and one of the main reasons the major media and establishment rarely report or address it.

The logic (fully explained here) can be summarized as follows:

Islamic and jihadi attacks targeting the West or Israel pose no problem to the image of Islam.  No matter how violent or brutal, no matter how many Islamic slogans are shrieked—“Allah commands the subjugation of infidels!”—Muslim violence against the West and Israel will always be dismissed as desperate acts of disempowered, oppressed, and frustrated Muslims—the “underdogs,” which the West tends to romanticize.

And so they will always get a free pass, without further reflection. Continue reading “Al Qaeda: The Defender of Christians?” →

Kerry Boasts of ‘Pluralistic’ Syria Once Assad Gone

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by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com 

U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, was recently interviewed about Syria.  While many of his assertions can be debated, one especially requires a response.

U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv via Flickr
U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv via Flickr

Throughout the interview, he repeatedly insisted that, if Bashar Assad would only leave power, everything would go well — especially for all of Syria’s minorities.

In his words: “I believe that a peace can protect all of the minorities: Druze, Christian, Isma‘ilis, Alawites — all of them can be protected, and you can have a pluralistic Syria, in which minority rights of all people are protected.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kerry declared that “The world would protect the Alawites, Druze, Christians, and all minorities in Syria after the ousting of Assad.” Continue reading “Kerry Boasts of ‘Pluralistic’ Syria Once Assad Gone” →

The Existential Elephant in the ‘Christian Persecution’ Room

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by Raymond Ibrahim // CBN News 

Open Doors USA recently released its widely cited 2014 World Watch List—a report that highlights and ranks the 50 worst nations around the globe persecuting

2014 World Watch List global map of Christian persecution (darker colors more severe).
2014 World Watch List global map of Christian persecution (darker colors more severe).

Christians. Continue reading “The Existential Elephant in the ‘Christian Persecution’ Room” →

Armenian Christians Pressured to Convert to Islam

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by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com 

Arabic language websites reported earlier this week that the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—which, throughout the course of the war against the Assad government has committed any number of atrocities, from decapitating “infidels” to burning churches—has successfully “forced” two Armenian Christian families to convert to Islam. Continue reading “Armenian Christians Pressured to Convert to Islam” →

Three American Teacher Slaughtered for Christian Faith in Muslim World

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by Raymond Ibrahim // CBN News 

Why was Ronald Thomas Smith II, an American teaching at Benghazi’s International School, shot to death last Thursday in Libya, even as he “was looking forward to his first Christmas in

Ronald Smith with wife and child
Ronald Smith with wife and child

the United States with his wife and toddler son”?

Most Western media and analysts dismiss the killing as a random act of violence incited by a recent al-Qaeda video.

However, by connecting the dots and looking at precedence, it appears that Smith’s Christianity, specifically his talking about it among Muslims, was the motive behind the slaying.

First consider two facts gleaned from the AP report, “American killed in Benghazi remembered as ‘much loved teacher’”: 1) Smith once had plans to attend seminary, a place devoted to preparing Christians to share the Gospel—a crime according to Islamic law (recall the Coptic Christians tortured and killed on the accusation that they were proselytizing in Libya); 2) according to his home church in Texas, “Ronnie’s [Smith’s] greatest desire was for peace and prosperity in Libya and for the people of Libya to have the joy of knowing God through Christ” (emphasis added). Continue reading “Three American Teacher Slaughtered for Christian Faith in Muslim World” →

A Month of Horror for Christians under Islam: September, 2013

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by Raymond Ibrahim // Gatestone Institute 

The same month that Obama tried to wage war on behalf of the jihadi rebels in Syria (citing “human rights” concerns), some of the war’s worst atrocities were committed against that nation’s Christian minority, most notably in Ma‘loula, an ancient Christian region where the inhabitants still spoke the language of Jesus. Continue reading “A Month of Horror for Christians under Islam: September, 2013” →

‘Largest Massacre of Christians in Syria’ Ignored

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by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com 

One of the worst Christian massacres—complete with mass graves, tortured-to-death women and children, and destroyed churches—recently took place in Syria, at the hands of the U.S.-supported jihadi “rebels”; and the U.S. government and its “mainstream media” mouthpiece are, as usual, silent (that is, when not actively trying img-1to minimize matters).

The massacre took place in Sadad, an ancient Syriac Orthodox Christian habitation, so old as to be mentioned in the Old Testament.  Most of the region’s inhabitants are poor, as Sadad is situated in the remote desert between Homs and Damascus (desert regions, till now, apparently the only places Syria’s Christians could feel secure; 600 Christian families had earlier fled there for sanctuary from the jihad, only to be followed by it).

In late October, the U.S-supported “opposition” invaded and occupied Sadad for over a week, till ousted by the nation’s military.  Continue reading “‘Largest Massacre of Christians in Syria’ Ignored” →