By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service, answritermike@gmail.com
LONDON, UK (ANS, July 22, 2015) --
Earlier this month, Lord Alton of Liverpool, who sits as a peer in the
British House of Lords, put out the following report, highlighting the
atrocities occurring around the globe.
Lord Alton, who is dedicated to
promoting human rights worldwide, and who has been an advocate of the
Jubilee Campaign, helped launch the group in Parliament in the UK.
In his report, Lord Alton
states: "The Islamic State terrorist attack, in which almost 40
holidaymakers were killed in Tunisia, accompanied by atrocities in
France and Kuwait, highlights again the murderous outrages the group is
willing to commit. Christians have been in the firing line of the IS
terrorists and other terror groups in the Middle East and the rest of
the globe.
"The
Middle East's population of 12 million Christians will be halved by
2020, if current demographic trends continue. Christians made up a
quarter of the Middle East's population 100 years ago, now they are less
than five per cent and just one per cent of the world's Christians.
According to the report,
Christians are today being persecuted from North Korea to Pakistan, from
China to Sudan. Britain's heir to the throne, Prince Charles, described
threats to Christians in the Middle East as “an indescribable tragedy.”
Lord Alton says: "Systematic
persecution is not a new phenomenon. The Roman Empire outlawed the new
growing Christian faith and condemned all Christians to death. Campaigns
against Armenian Christians and, in German South West Africa - Namibia -
of racial extermination of the Herero and Nama people, were the first
genocides of the 20th century 1,600 years later.
"Thousands have been killed,
churches and ancient monasteries blown up, whole communities forced to
flee, bishops and priests - such as Father Jacob Murad, Bishops Hanna
Ibrahim and Paul Yazici - abducted, some executed. Torture, beheadings
and even 'crucifixion' - by hanging corpses of the executed on crosses -
has become commonplace.”
Lord Alton said that
approximately ten per cent of the two billion Christians in the world
suffer persecution, according to Gyula Orban, an official of Aid to the
Church In Need, the Catholic relief agency.
Thousands killed
"Aleppo's Melkite Greek
Catholic Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart's archbishopric in Aleppo has
been hit more than 20 times by mortar shells and was under fire again in
June 2015. He said Christians had lost their lives, homes and
livelihoods and are being traumatized by Syria's civil war.
"'ISIS, (also known as Islamic
State) which has already killed thousands in the region, is terrifying
the faithful in Aleppo. After attacks on Maloula, Mosul, Idleb and
Palmyra, what is the West waiting for before it intervenes? What are the
great nations waiting for before they put a halt to these
monstrosities,” he said.
Lord Alton states in his report
that there are fewer than 100,000 of the 250,000 Christians left in
Aleppo. Thousands have been killed, churches and ancient monasteries
blown up, whole communities forced to flee, bishops and priests - such
as Father Jacob Murad, Bishops Hanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazici - abducted,
some executed. Torture, beheadings and even 'crucifixion' - by hanging
corpses of the executed on crosses - has become commonplace.
"Syrian Christians living in
areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS) are forced to convert to
Islam or pay a punitive jizya tax.”
Fault lines opening
"In the seventh century,
Christians - in what is now Syria - had to pay half an ounce of gold to
pay for the privilege of living under the protection of the Islamic
Caliphate. Failure to pay left two options - convert or be killed. In
February 2014, 20 or so Christian families still living in the northern
Syrian town of Raqqa faced the same choice. The cost of protection is
now the equivalent of US$650 in Syrian pounds.
"Vast tracts of Syria and Iraq
have become lawless and ungovernable with fault lines opening between
Islamic extremists and moderates, between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and
between Sunnis and Shias - with funds and arms flowing in from the Gulf
and Tehran.
"Law abiding minority
communities - mainly Christians - have been caught in the crossfire.
They have lived in places like Aleppo and the Nineveh Plains for 2,000
years and continue to worship and speak in the Aramaic language.
"Joint Syrian and Kurdish forces have recaptured a number of
Christian villages in north-eastern Syria from IS recently, although a
huge retaliatory attack is underway. Many Christians have attempted to
flee Syria, some risking treacherous journeys across the Mediterranean.”Destroying artefacts
"The brutality of IS manifests
itself in beheadings accompanied by a blitzkrieg on antiquities and
ancient artefacts, and the destruction of Christian churches and the
defilement of Shia mosques. The fall of Palmyra follows the bulldozing
of the ancient city of Nimrud, and demolition of Afghanistan's Bamiyan
Buddhas and the Sufi monuments in Mali.
"IS is attempting to eradicate
the collective memory of humanity, destroying all that is 'different',
while cynically smuggling and selling the antiquities which they do not
destroy to fund their campaign.
Turkey is turning a blind eye
"IS presents this as a clash of
civilizations but the manner in which they debase all that is civilized
simply pits civilization against barbarism. IS is also at war with
other Muslims and those of other faith traditions.”
Hatred of Christians
"It describes itself as the
Islamic State, but this is a misnomer. It is certainly not a state and
many Muslim scholars challenge the Islamic basis on which it forces
Christians to convert or die as the Quran says there should be no
compulsion in religion.
"This same hatred of Christians has been nurtured by other radical groups from the Taliban to al-Shabaab and Boko Haram.
"Jihadist ideology by
al-Shabaab-affiliated Islamist militants saw Christian students
specifically singled out in an attack where 147 students died at Kenya's
Garissa University College.
Lord Alton went on to report
that a Christian couple was burned alive in a kiln earlier in 2015 by a
mob of 1,300 people in Pakistan while their young children were forced
to watch. This followed the killing of 85 Anglicans who were praying in
their church at Peshawar in 2013. British politicians have raised the
tragic case of Nauman Masih, a 15 year-old Christian boy, who was
beaten, tortured and burned alive on April 9, 2015, in Lahore, after he
was identified as a Christian.
"This follows the murder of
Pakistan's only Christian Cabinet Minister, Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, in
2011. Nobody has been convicted for this.”
Havoc and fear
"Pakistan's first President,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, said at its founding in 1947, 'Minorities, to
whichever community they may belong, will be safeguarded. Their
religion, faith or belief will be secure. There will be no interference
of any kind with their freedom of worship. They will have their
protection with regard to their religion, faith, their life and their
culture. They will be, in all respects, the citizens of Pakistan without
any distinction of caste and creed.'
Lord Alton states that
minorities in Pakistan are neither safeguarded nor protected, with only
about 1.5 per cent or three million Christians in 2015 out of a
population of 182 million people.
"Boko Haram is creating havoc
and fear in Nigeria, graphically illustrated by the February 2014
abduction of young girls and the murder of 59 students from the Federal
Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, while they slept.
"Churches have been bombed,
pastors executed, and Christians targeted despite the government's
insistence that it is tackling Boko Haram. The terror group, which
killed more than 80 people in attacks in June 2015, openly says its
interim goal is 'to eradicate Christians from certain parts of the
country'.”
Massive displacementNigeria's north-south conflict is reminiscent of Sudan's civil war, (1983 - 2005), when two million people, mainly Christians, were killed, Lord Alton reported.
"Khartoum continues to target
whole communities. It has dropped more than 2,500 bombs on its civilian,
predominantly-Christian, populations in Blue Nile and South Kordofan
and has committed crimes against humanity in Darfur with ethnic
cleansing by co-religionists.
"The unremitting violence has
led to a massive displacement and generated vast numbers of refugees.
Sudan's near neighbor, Eritrea, is responsible for around 18 per cent of
the 200,000 immigrants reaching Europe in 2014, according to the UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
Lord Alton also stated that
Boko Haram is creating havoc and fear in Nigeria, graphically
illustrated by the February 2014 abduction of young girls and the murder
of 59 students from the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe
State, while they slept.
"Eritrea is the North Korea of
Africa with one of the world's most repressive regimes. Protestors
gathered in London to mark the 13th anniversary of the imposition of
severe restrictions on churches in Eritrea, the deposing and house
arrest of the Eritrean patriarch, Abune Antonnios and imprisonment of
other Christians. Fleeing Eritrean Christians braved arduous journeys to
reach Libya only to be captured there by IS and beheaded.
"Freedom of belief is at the heart of the struggle for the future of whole societies and countries,” he said.
Churches attacked
"Egypt was horrified in
February 2015 by the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts who were working in
Libya. I suggested in 2013 that we should compare the charred husk of
the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue in Berlin in 1938, with pictures of the
blackened walls of Degla's ruined Church of the Virgin Mary, and why
August 2013 represented Egypt's Kristallnacht.
“This was one of many churches
attacked, along with Christian homes and businesses. The situation has
improved under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi but the head of the
Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Dr Mohamed Abul-Ghar, warned that the
forced displacement of Coptic families by customary meetings is contrary
to Egypt's Constitution, the principles of citizenship, humanity and
justice. These remarks followed the displacement of a number of Coptic
families in Beni Suef because a member of these families was accused of
allegedly publishing cartoons of the Prophet of Islam on his Facebook
account. The man is illiterate.”
Religious renewal
"Egyptian writer and novelist
Fatima Naaot, in a message to the president, says that the displacement
of Christian families from their villages and the burning of their homes
in front of security forces is a scandal which undermines the
sovereignty of the Egyptian state and indicates an absence of the rule
of law and the fall in the prestige of the government and the president.
"Egypt's President Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi called for a 'religious revolution' in 2015 to re-examine those
aspects of Islamic thinking which 'make an enemy of the whole world'.
But, despite his calls for religious renewal, 'contempt of religion' and
blasphemy charges are occurring more frequently.
"These can be an impediment to healthy and constructive religious debate and can encourage vindictive acts.
"It against this background -
from Syria and Iraq, to Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, and many other
countries in which Christians and others are persecuted for their
beliefs - that June 2015 witnessed a human rights conference in Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, on combatting intolerance and discrimination based on
religion or belief.”
Human rights"Was it a black sense of humor or an astute move to have asked Saudi Arabia to host this event?” Lord Alton asked.
"Saudi Arabia is one of the worst violators of religious freedom, and Saudi Wahhabism has fueled many of these conflicts.
"Given the West's oil
dependent, arms-providing, symbiotic relationship with Saudi Arabia, it
is hard to imagine much being said about the Saudi human rights
activist, Raif Badawi, at the conference. He is in prison for the crime
of religious dissent and under threat of further public flogging and
potential execution.
"Saudi Arabia ranks sixth on the 2014 World Watch List of most
repressive countries for Christians, a list compiled by the charity,
Open Doors.
"When a country like Saudi
Arabia passes legislation defining atheists as terrorists, beheads or
tortures its citizens, and refuses to protect the right of minorities to
follow their beliefs, or to have no belief, is it any wonder that such
actions are mimicked by IS?
"Saudi Arabia beheads people in the public square which is routinely practiced by IS.”
Rule of law
"The Jeddah Conference aimed to
discuss how to effectively implement UN Human Rights Council Resolution
16/18 on combating religious intolerance, discrimination, incitement to
violence and violence against people due to their religion or beliefs.
"Saudi Arabia, unlike IS,
really is an Islamic state and it would be the first place to start
heralding an acceptance of pluralism of belief and upholding diversity
and difference.
"In his opening speech to the
Conference, OIC Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Madani said that the
international human rights community attached great importance to
combating religious intolerance. Mr Madani correctly observed that
religious hatred needs to be addressed at all levels, including the need
to ascertain the limits of freedom of expression to determine where it
ends and transforms into incitement to hatred.
"World leaders face the
challenge of championing and upholding the rule of law and the
protection of minorities - beyond conferences and speeches. That is the
antidote to Jihadist ideology, not assassination squads or endless
aerial bombardment.”
Safe havens
"The war lords and regime
leaders responsible for persecution and atrocities should face justice.
The challenge is to increase the effectiveness of the International
Criminal Court, systematically collect evidence, document the atrocities
and demand the United Nations Security Council instigates
prosecutions.”
Lord Alton said more safe havens are needed to protect beleaguered
groups of Christians, and others, and every foreign minister needs to
promote Article 18 obligations."Dag Hammarskjold, one of the great Secretary Generals of the UN (1953-1961), once said, 'The UN wasn't founded to take mankind to paradise but rather to save humanity from hell.'
“It is hard to see that the international community is achieving even that limited objective,” Lord Alton stated.
Lord Alton also went on to say that the UN, our Western legislators,
policymakers and media need to become literate about religion. He quoted
Lyse Doucet, the BBC's chief international correspondent, who said, 'If
you don't understand religion - including the abuse of religion - it's
becoming ever harder to understand our world.'
Aid programs
"The central question of how
nations learn to live together, tolerantly respecting and rejoicing in
the dignity of difference is at the heart of all these challenges. It
means emphasizing a common humanity; promoting the ability of members of
all religious faiths to manifest their religion; and allow all people
to contribute openly and on an equal footing to society.
"Aid programs and humanitarian interventions have to reflect values
and be used to protect minorities, provide security, and to open the
possibility of decent lives for those currently trying to flee their
native homelands.
"Countries can apply 'soft
power' - or smart power - in the way aid is provided and by shutting it
off, or threatening to shut it off, where necessary - and in how values
are shared through education and the media.
Lord Alton stated that the immediate and over-arching concern remains the plight of Middle Eastern Christians.
“The international community
has to be more consistent in its moral outrage rather than denouncing
some countries for their suppression of minorities while appeasing
others who directly enable jihad through financial support. Western
powers are seen as hypocrites when business interests determine
responses to human rights abuses,” he said.
Deep questions
"This is not about Christians
versus Muslims. Religious persecution takes place all over the world and
those responsible should be prosecuted. A Pew Research Centre study
found that religious repression was recorded in 151 of 185 countries
studied in the last 10 years.
"The dramatic rise in the persecution of Christians has been
accompanied by a vilification of Islam and, in Europe especially, the
reawakening of anti-Semitism.
"The three Abrahamic religions -
Judaism, Christianity and Islam - need to ask deep questions about what
they can to remedy these issues - and become transformative agents in
conflict management, reconciliation and healing.
"World leaders face the
challenge of championing and upholding the rule of law and the
protection of minorities - beyond conferences and speeches. That is the
antidote to Jihadist ideology, not assassination squads or endless
aerial bombardment.
He asked: "Can the great faiths
motivate their followers to be peace-makers, peace-builders, protectors
of minorities, and practitioners of pluralism, tolerance, mutual
respect, and the upholding of the rule of law? Could global society
devote comparable energy into countering religious extremism as the
energy which has been used to spread religious extremism?”
He concluded by saying:
"Countries have to make the cause of those who suffer for their religion
or belief the great cause of our times. Christians, Jews and Muslims
privileged to live in free societies have to challenge cold indifference
and speak up and defend humanity."
Jubilee Campaign is a voice for those suffering in silence. Its website www.jubileecampaugn.org
states: “We recognize the severe oppression of certain governments and
life situations–especially religious oppression, trafficking, and
displacement–impair a person’s ability to live in freedom.”
Jubilee Campaign promotes the
human rights and religious liberty of ethnic and religious minorities
around the world because we value freedom and democracy and our right to
choose, speak, and believe. The website states: “We document human
rights abuses and advocate with consultative status at the United
Nations. We are active on Capitol Hill in letter writing campaigns and
serving as an expert voice on religious freedom in multiple countries.
Our main focus is on helping the persecuted Church body
(non-denominational, pastors, clergy, cultures, etc.) and ensuring that
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is upheld for
all.”
The Declaration states: “Everyone
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this
right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and
observance.”
To read more posts by Lord Alton visit www.davidalton.net
Photo one: Jubilee Campaign Logo
Photo two: Michael Ireland
Michael Ireland is
a Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as a
volunteer Internet Journalist and Ordained Minister who has served with
ASSIST Ministries and ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989.
He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan,
China, and Russia. Click http://paper.li/Michael_ASSIST/1410485204 to see a daily digest of Michael's stories for ANS.
** You may republish this or any of our stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service www.assisistnews.net
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