{"id":7012,"date":"2014-02-14T09:29:50","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T17:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=7012"},"modified":"2014-02-14T09:29:50","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T17:29:50","slug":"u-s-chose-to-stay-silent-on-muslim-persecution-of-christians-november-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/u-s-chose-to-stay-silent-on-muslim-persecution-of-christians-november-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. “Chose to Stay Silent” on Muslim Persecution of Christians: November 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0Gatestone Institute<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The endemic rise of Christian persecution in the Middle East was noted in November when\u00a0Pope Francis declared<\/a>\u00a0\u201cWe will not resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians\u201d and stressed the importance of \u201cthe universal right to lead a dignified life and freely practice one\u2019s own faith\u201d after he met with patriarchs from Syria, Iran, and Iraq, all countries where Christian minorities are under attack.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, powers best placed to do something about the plight of Mideast Christians\u2014namely, the U.S. Obama administration\u2014made it clear that they would do nothing, even when well leveraged to do so.<\/p>\n

In November, the wife of American pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned in Iran for over a year for practicing Christianity, said she and her family were devastated after learning that the Obama administration did not try to secure the release of her husband as part of the newly signed deal on Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe talks over Iran\u2019s nuclear program were seen by his [Abedini\u2019s] family and those representing them as one of the most promising avenues yet for securing his release,\u201d said\u00a0Fox News<\/a>. \u201cBut the White House confirmed over the weekend that Abedini\u2019s status was not on the table during those talks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we have any more leverage,\u201d said Abedini\u2019s wife. \u201cWe now have to consider other avenues and having other countries speak out because our country when we could have used our leverage chose to stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest of November\u2019s roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Islamic Attacks on Christian Places of Worship<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lebanon:<\/strong>\u00a0An unidentified attacker\u00a0firebombed the reception area of the newly built Christian cathedral<\/a>\u00a0of the town\u2019s patron Saint, Mar Zakhya.\u00a0 Despite the loud boom heard in the town\u2019s main square, there was limited damage; some building material used for the building process of the cathedral was destroyed.\u00a0 Although Lebanon was Christian-majority in the mid-20th century, today it is roughly 60% Muslim, 40% Christian.<\/p>\n

Sudan<\/strong>: Police and security forces used a truck and two land cruisers to batter down the fence around Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church, before\u00a0breaking into the church and beating and arresting the Christians present<\/a>\u00a0as Muslim onlookers shouted \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d (\u201cAllah is greater\u201d).\u00a0 The government, which has been destroying or taking over church buildings in retaliation to the secession of the mainly Christian South Sudan\u00a0in July 2011, is believed to be behind the move, on the pretext that parts of the church\u2019s property actually belong to a Muslim business investor.<\/p>\n

Syria<\/strong>: Nine children were killed and 27 people wounded after Islamic rebels targeted and fired mortar rounds at the\u00a0St. John of Damascus Christian School<\/a>\u00a0and the school bus. Also, the aftermath of the rebel invasion and occupation of the city of Qamishli in the northeast near the Turkish border revealed and included\u2014among other atrocities such as killing and beheading Christians and their clergy\u2014the destruction of all Christian icons in the local church and\u00a0theft of the church\u2019s most prized possession<\/a>, a reportedly two-thousand year-old icon of the face of Christ.<\/p>\n

Turkey<\/strong>: Historically the oldest Christian place of worship in Istanbul, the ancient monastery of San Giovanni in Studion founded in 462, currently classified as a museum,\u00a0is now going to serve as a mosque<\/a>. This would be the third ancient Christian building and heritage site to be set to be transformed into a mosque.\u00a0 Earlier it was announced that the ancient churches of Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia) in Trabzon and in Iznik would also be turned into mosques.<\/p>\n

Islamic Attacks on Christian Freedom: Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

India<\/strong>:\u00a0 TJ Joseph, a Christian college professor, was finally acquitted of all blasphemy charges, though he is still missing an arm. Back in 2010 he had his\u00a0right hand and part of his arm cut off<\/a>\u00a0by a group of men, following accusations that some of his exams contained offensive questions about Islam\u2019s prophet Muhammad.\u00a0 Although he had apologized, after he was mutilated, he was also fired by his college.\u00a0 According to one source: the most serious aspects of this episode \u201cwas the attitude of the police, who registered the complaint against him and also arrested him, and of the institution, which has suspended him from duty. Fortunately, the Mahatma Gandhi University, to which Newman College is affiliated, revoked the decision of the school authorities and has offered him his job back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran<\/strong>: The fate of Hossein Saketi Aramsari, a Christian known as \u201cStephen\u201d among his friends, remained unknown.\u00a0 Iran\u2019s secret police arrested him back in July, 2013, on suspicions that he was engaging in \u201cevangelistic activities<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 According to sources, apparently to increase pressure on him, authorities transferred him from one jail to another; he has also been in solitary confinement.\u00a0 Then, in October, a judge of the local Revolutionary Court \u201cofficially charged him with doing evangelism.\u201d\u00a0 It is believed that he is currently held in the same prison where Benham Irani, another Christian \u201cprisoner of conscience\u201d is being held, abused, and refused medical treatment, also on the charge of proselytizing. Explaining this rise in crackdowns on evangelizing, Mohabat News said, \u201cConversion of youth and their families has become a major concern for the Iranian security authorities and Islamic leaders.\u201d\u00a0 Separately, a former Muslim and drug addict who twice attempted to commit suicide before he converted to Christianity at a rehabilitation center at the hands of another former Muslim and ex-drug addict woman who had earlier become Christian, was, according to those close to him, falsely convicted of selling drugs in the facility, severely beaten, and sentenced to prison, after authorities learned that he himself had begun to proselytize in the rehabilitation center. Police also temporarily arrested Armin Davoodi\u2019s parents at their home and confiscated his personal belongings, including the Bibles he used to take to the rehabilitation center.\u00a0 Relatives with strong government connections were able to get him released under numerous conditions, including a requirement that he state in writing that Christians had misled him into the faith and that\u00a0he would never again go to a church or talk to other Muslims about the Gospel<\/a>, and that if he did, he would be executed by the state.\u00a0 So he agreed to their proposal and has since fled.<\/p>\n

Pakistan<\/strong>: Blasphemy cases against Christians have reached an all-time high.\u00a0 Four such cases\u00a0were reported in November<\/a>, which, according to activists, is four times higher than the monthly average recorded over the past two years. Activists and clergy further stressed that the overwhelming majority of blasphemy accusations are being used as \u201cinstruments of revenge\u201d against Christians, as a sure way to see them get punished for whatever real or imagined grievance accusing Muslims may have.\u00a0 Separately, Younis Masih, a 35-year-old Christian who had been\u00a0imprisoned and sentenced to death on blasphemy<\/a>\u00a0charges since 2005, was finally released after judges decreed he did not blaspheme Islam.\u00a0 He and his family are still in hiding since some Muslims still seek to kill him despite his being cleared of the blasphemy charge.\u00a0 According to Younis: \u201cI have four children and I have no job, no one is helping me. I live with the fear of being killed.\u201d\u00a0 And in the words of his lawyer: \u201cChristians in Pakistan fear threats, attacks, violence, discrimination and hatred. The law of blasphemy is always a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads: Their life is not safe even after their release from prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somalia<\/strong>: A Muslim convert to Christianity living in Mogadishu was\u00a0killed by Islamic gunmen accusing him of spreading the faith<\/a>.\u00a0 Two men armed with pistols shot Abdikhani Hassan, 35, seven times as he approached his home after closing his pharmacy. He is survived by his wife, who is pregnant, and five children ranging in age from 3 to 12.\u00a0 He and his wife converted to Christianity back in 2000.\u00a0 Before killing him, one of the assailants told a neighbor, \u201cWe have information that Hassan is spreading wrong religion to our people, and we are looking for him.\u201d\u00a0 According to a source, \u201cThe men who murdered Abdikhani [Hassan] are suspected to be Al Shabaab militia,\u201d the Somali wing of al-Qaeda which has vowed to cleanse the country of any Christian presence.<\/p>\n

Turkey<\/strong>: A Christian pastor was reportedly arrested on charges of organizing human trafficking and prostitution.\u00a0 The Christian community of Agape (or \u201cBrotherly Love\u201d) Church, where Orhan Picaklar, 42, is pastor, insists that he is innocent, and that \u201cthe allegations are entirely instrumental, as the Pastor was under observation for suspected \u2018illegal missionary activity<\/a>.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Later, the church where the Agape community meets was damaged by vandals, although the congregation has obtained the formal status of \u201cassociation\u201d in 2005 (as with other Christian communities in Turkey, the government does not grant official recognition of \u201cchurch\u201d to new communities).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dhimmitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central African Republic<\/strong>: 450,000 Christians have fled their homes in the 80% Christian-majority nation since the Islamic takeover in March 2013.\u00a0 Then, Seleka\u2014a coalition of local and foreign Arabic-speaking Islamic militias\u2014seized control of the capital, Bangui, in\u00a0an orgy of violence, bloodshed, and rape<\/a>, against Christians. \u00a0As one analyst put it, \u201cBut Seleka does not rape, loot and kill indiscriminately. Rather, Seleka attacks Christians and spares Muslims, causing traditional community trust to evaporate, and creating a sectarian tinderbox.\u201d\u00a0 And in fact, Christians, who make the majority of the African nation, are fighting back, leading to an extremely volatile situation.\u00a0 Christian Bishop Albert Vanbuel stated \u201ca rebellion of religious extremism with evil intentions, characterized by profanation and planned destruction of religious buildings, especially Catholic and Protestant churches\u201d is now in power.<\/p>\n

Egypt<\/strong>: Three months after the Egyptian military liberated Delga from Muslim Brotherhood supporters and sympathizers\u2014who were forcing Christians to pay jizya, or tribute, for right of life\u2014they continued to terrorize Christians in other towns across Egypt.\u00a0 Especially throughout regions in Upper Egypt like Minya,\u00a0extortionists using the threat of kidnap, torture and murder seized money, land and other property from Christians<\/a>.\u00a0 One Copt was tied by his kidnappers as they repeatedly shot an automatic rifle next to his ear.\u00a0\u00a0 According to Morning Star News, \u201cBesides the emotional damage he suffered, the shockwaves exiting the rifle combined with the muzzle blast shattered the Christian\u2019s eardrums and burned his face. The Copt begged his family to gather the ransom money, and eventually they paid the kidnappers some 50,000 Egyptian pounds (US$7,260). He returned to his family shattered and unable to speak of the ordeal until recently.\u201d According to the founder of the Maspero Union, targeting Christians in the context of seizing their money and property is seen \u201cas a religious duty.\u201d\u00a0 The director of a human rights organization in Upper Egypt said, \u201cThis past month alone, we had nine cases of kidnapping in Minya, and they all paid their ransom, which was between 100,000 and 250,000 Egyptian pounds [US$14,500 to $36,300] for each case.\u201d\u00a0 Separately in Minya, after a Coptic boy was accused of being in a relationship with a Muslim girl, \u201cMuslims\u00a0burnt down the house<\/a>of the boy\u2019s father and an adjacent house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nigeria<\/strong>: After kidnapping a teenage Christian girl named Hajja, members of the Boko Haram terrorist organization kept her as a slave, eventually putting a knife to her throat and\u00a0offering her one of two choices: convert to Islam or die<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cIf I cried, they beat me. If I spoke, they beat me. They told me I must become a Muslim but I refused again and again\u2026\u00a0 They were about to slaughter me and one of them begged me not to resist and just before I had my throat slit I relented. They put a veil on me and made me read from the Koran.\u201d\u00a0 According to Reuters, \u201cShe ceremonially converted to Islam, cooked for the men, carried ammunition during an attack on a police outpost and was about to be married to one of the insurgents before she managed to engineer a dramatic escape. She says she was not raped.\u201d Recounting how her captors used her to lure people into traps, the 19-year-old told Reuters, and \u201cThey took them back to a cave and tied them up. They cut their throats, one at a time.\u00a0 I thought my heart would burst out of my chest, because I was the bait.\u201d\u00a0 Among those who did the slaughtering was the Muslim wife of a leader, the only other woman in the band of jihadi terrorists.\u00a0 Separately, a Baptist high school principal and some teachers\u00a0were beaten to a \u201cpulp\u201d and \u201cstate of coma\u201d<\/a>\u00a0at the hands of \u201cunknown persons,\u201d who used, among other weapons, axes.\u00a0 The reason was that the school had earlier sent home a female student for wearing a veil, or Islamic hijab, while on school premises.\u00a0 Finally, over 70 Christians were killed by what were described as \u201cIslamic extremists\u201d: Boko Haram terrorists killed 34 Christians in Borno state, while \u201cMuslim herdsmen\u201d slaughtered 37 Christians, injured dozens, and looted and destroyed their homes, in coordinated attacks on four Plateau state villages.<\/p>\n

Pakistan<\/strong>: An entire Christian community has been forced to flee a Lyarni neighborhood known as the \u201cSlaughter House,\u201d due to the endemic\u00a0killings, rapes of young girls, thefts, drug dealing, and extortions<\/a>.\u00a0 Before surrounding Muslims began their incursions, the residential area was 90% Christian, 10% Hindu, with four churches and three temples. \u201cIt is almost empty now,\u201d disclosed a Christian elder of a Christian family. \u201cWe all are separated now. We won\u2019t be reunited again.\u201d \u201cA lot of the families have left the compound since 2008, after their daughters were kidnapped and raped,\u201d claimed another community elder. \u201cNo one knows where they have gone.\u201d He recalled an incident when a teenage girl, who was dancing at her brother\u2019s wedding, was kidnapped. \u201cHer parents, brother and relatives cried and appealed to the kidnappers but they didn\u2019t listen,\u201d he narrated. \u201cShe was dishonoured and was left outside the compound the next morning. That family was never seen in the city again.\u201d<\/p>\n

About this Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

While not all, or even most Muslims are involved, the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching pandemic proportions.\u00a0 Accordingly, \u201cMuslim Persecution of Christians\u201d was developed to collate some\u2014by no means all\u2014of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, persecution of Christians.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To show that such persecution is not \u201crandom,\u201d but systematic and interrelated\u2014that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws that criminalize and punish with death those who \u201coffend\u201d Islam; theft and plunder in lieu of\u00a0jizya<\/em>\u00a0(financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed\u00a0dhimmis<\/em>, or second-class, \u201ctolerated\u201d citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination.<\/p>\n

Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales\u2014from Morocco in the West, to India in the East\u2014it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam\u2014whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0Gatestone Institute\u00a0 The endemic rise of Christian persecution in the Middle East was noted in November when\u00a0Pope Francis declared\u00a0\u201cWe will not resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians\u201d and stressed the importance of \u201cthe universal right to lead a dignified life and freely practice one\u2019s own faith\u201d after he met […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[225,227],"tags":[366,192,30,1060,478],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1P6","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7216,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-are-slaughtering-us-like-chickens-muslim-persecution-of-christians-december-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":7012,"position":0},"title":"The Are Slaughtering Us Like Chickens’: Muslim Persecution of Christians, December 2013","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0Gatestone Insitute As happens at Christmas every year throughout the Muslim world, Christians and their churches were especially targeted\u2014from jihadi terror strikes killing worshippers, to measures by Muslim authorities restricting Christmas celebrations.\u00a0 Some incidents follow:","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6716,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/exploiting-christian-persecution-to-demonize-israel\/","url_meta":{"origin":7012,"position":1},"title":"Exploiting Christian Persecution to Demonize Israel","author":"victorhanson","date":"November 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0RaymondIbrahim.com\u00a0 What\u2019s worse than the silence of Western Christians concerning the Muslim persecution of their coreligionists in the Islamic world?\u00a0 Answer: Cynically exploiting that persecution for a political agenda\u2014in the case of a recent\u00a0Daily Beast\u00a0article, to excoriate the state of Israel and its supporters. Titled \u201cWhy Won\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Israel"","block_context":{"text":"Israel","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/israel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6219,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/crucified-again-venn-institute-interviews-raymond-ibrahim\/","url_meta":{"origin":7012,"position":2},"title":"Crucified Again — Venn Institute Interviews Raymond Ibrahim","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Raymond Ibrahim [Note: The following interview was conducted by the\u00a0Venn Institute\u00a0with Raymond Ibrahim] Raymond Ibrahim is a widely published author, public speaker, and Middle East and Islam expert, and author most recently of\u00a0Crucified Again: Exposing Islam\u2019s New War on Christians. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0@RaymondIbrahim5 Venn Institute: Most Americans see persecution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Crucified-Again-Cover.jpg?fit=797%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Crucified-Again-Cover.jpg?fit=797%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Crucified-Again-Cover.jpg?fit=797%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Crucified-Again-Cover.jpg?fit=797%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7065,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/why-are-christians-the-worlds-most-persecuted-group\/","url_meta":{"origin":7012,"position":3},"title":"Why Are Christians the World’s Most Persecuted Group?","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0RaymondIbrahim.com\u00a0 Why are Christians, as a new Pew report documents, the\u00a0most persecuted religious group in the world?\u00a0 And why is their persecution\u00a0occurring primarily throughout the Islamic world?\u00a0 (In the category on \u201cCountries with Very High Government Restrictions on Religion,\u201d Pew lists 24 countries\u201420 of which are Islamic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Three_crosses-300x255.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7139,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/why-the-media-doesnt-cover-jihadist-attacks-on-middle-east-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":7012,"position":4},"title":"Why the Media Doesn’t Cover Jihadist Attacks on Middle East Christians","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0The Torch\u00a0 \u201cTo their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace\u201d\u2014Hebrews 6:6 The United Nations, Western governments, media, universities, and talking heads everywhere insist that Palestinians are suffering tremendous abuses from the state of Israel.\u00a0 Conversely, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cufi-300x250.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7398,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/egypt-christian-arrested-for-using-home-as-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":7012,"position":5},"title":"Egypt: Christian Arrested for Using Home as Church","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0RaymondIbrahim.com A Coptic Christian man in Egypt has been arrested on complaints from local Muslims that, without a permit, he has\u00a0converted his home into a church\u00a0and is supposedly even holding religious rituals. 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