Christmas in the Middle East. "This is what Islam does to you"

Devout Christians throughout the world attended Midnight Mass last night to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ ... or tried to attend at the risk of death or torture. This is something we in America take for granted but in other parts of the world it takes on a very different meaning. Here are some reports from other places where more devout Christians are being turned into martyrs every day for refusing to give up their faith. And yet another story written by a Muslim who has discovered the true meaning of the Qur'an and tries desperately to leave Islam after reading in English what he had been blindly reciting in Arabic all his life without knowing what he said.

Indonesia, via Jihad Watch:

Indonesia's Christmas tradition: Turning a blind eye to persecution and intimidation of Christians

Indonesia saw many similar cases of harassment and intimidation last Christmas, and this year threatens more of the same. "West Java: Islamic extremist groups threaten Catholics, Christmas celebrations at risk," by Mathias Hariyadi for Asia News, December 23:

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Islamic fundamentalist groups in Parung, Bogor regency, West Java province, are threatening and "warning" the local Catholic community, victims of attacks in anticipation of the holiday season. At the risk of the celebration of Masses and religious services, especially with regard to the faithful of the parish of St. John the Baptist, long the center of a dispute between Christians and Muslims that revolves around the building construction permit.

They celebrated last year's Christmas Mass in a parking lot.

A statement published by the "Parung Society of Muslim" emphasizes the "strong support" of the stance of the Govenor of Bogor regency, who opposes the plan to build a church for the faithful of the parish of St. John the Baptist. Again, the controversy revolves around the infamous IMB - the Izin mendirikan bangunan - essential for any contrustion in Indonesia and even more difficult to obtain when it comes to a place of Christian worship.

Iraq, reported on Atlas Shrugs:

"Midnight Masses canceled in Iraq because of growing security concerns,"

from the Catholic News Service, December 23 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

LONDON (CNS) -- Chaldean Catholic officials have canceled traditional Christmas Eve midnight Masses because of security risks. 

Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk in northern Iraq told the agency Aid to the Church in Need that Christians will spend Christmas in "great fear" because of the risk of new attacks.
All services and Masses have been scheduled for daylight hours, he said in an interview with Rome-based AsiaNews.

"Midnight Christmas Mass has been canceled in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk as a consequence of the never-ending assassinations of Christians," he said, citing the Oct. 31, 2010, attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral that left 57 people dead in the Iraqi capital.

Archbishop Sako also expressed concern over the growing conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims vying for political power. He said the conflict has led to growing instability, especially in the days since the pullout of U.S. military troops in mid-December....

Egypt, from a post on Big Peace:

In Egypt, Christians endure their ‘Kristallnacht’

On December 7, Cynthia Farahat, a Coptic writer and human rights activist, testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission about the plight of her people. Farahat’s colleague Michael Mosad was one of the Christian men crushed by a military vehicle during the October 9 Maspero massacre, triggered by Copts protesting the burning of their churches by Islamist thugs. Farahat told the commission:

His legs were nearly severed from his body. As [Michael’s fiancée] sat next to him …soldiers gathered … brutally beating and kicking his motionless body. Vivian threw her body over his to protect him … but military officers beat and cursed her; they called her an infidel, ‘Christian sons of dogs,’ and worse–

Christian persecution is spread throughout the Middle East, I told them. Christians are under siege in Iraq. In Syria, they are clasping tight to Bashir al Assad as a sort of protector, and will be completely vulnerable if – or when – he falls. The Lebanese Christians are threatened by Hezbollah, and the Sudanese Christians lost millions to the Jihad over the last two decades. Christians (and Jews) have been thoroughly “cleansed” from Saudi Arabia already.

Bothaina Kamel, a Muslim TV personality who hid inside a television station during the protests, heard the soldiers and the policemen yelling “Allahu Akbar” as they brutally beat the protestors.

Kamel told the commission she was able to get out of the building only by claiming she was a believing Muslim. She said that she had been warned that the military was inspecting people’s hands, as many Copts had tattoos of crosses. She said to leave the building, she had to trudge through the blood of Christians whom the soldiers had beaten to death.

Pakistan, via a first-person account on Liberated:

Saturday, December 24, 2011

This Is What Islam Does to You

I was born in a very typical Sunni Muslim household, not very conservative like the Arabs, but nevertheless religious enough. I was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a very respectable Mohajjir family (mohajjirs are immigrants from India from the time of the partition in 1947). I moved to another Muslim country with my parents when I was just 10 years old and still live there.

I really wish there were a way I could freely live in a free society where I could follow the religion that I want without any compulsion. So far, I am not really sure what I am. I just know that I am not an atheist, because I do believe in a God, but that God cannot be the Allah of Mohammed. God is kind and merciful, not evil, cruel, mean and sadistic, as is Allah.

Have you ever read the Quran in English? I never did, I mean all my life I just recited the Quran in Arabic without understanding a single word until August of this year, when I purchased a copy of the English Quran and read the translation for the first time. Previously I had read some parts of it in English, but never the whole thing. But this year in August I read it from cover to cover, and then also read other references on the internet. Then I finally reached the conclusion that this book is the most evil thing on the face of this earth. It teaches nothing else except hatred and violence. I can no longer be a part of a cult which subjugates its followers, making them mere blind puppets with no mind of their own.

Please read the rest of the story written by this brave person who wants so much to leave Islam and convert to Christianity while living in Pakistan. And may I suggest you also read some of the comments posted by a few Muslims who threaten the writer.

And leading up to our joyous Christmas Season here is another compilation of incidents directed at Christians throughout the Islamic world showing once more how the Religion of Peace got its name. This article comes from Raymond Ibrahim over at Hudson NY. I have begun my quote in the middle of the article and strongly urge you to read the full story and the entire list of atrocities against Christians.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: November, 2011

by Raymond Ibrahim
Hudson New York
December 21, 2011

Meanwhile, it was revealed that "Christians are being refused refugee status [in the U.S.] and face persecution and many times certain death for their religious beliefs under Sharia, while whole Muslim communities are entering the U.S. by the tens of thousands per month despite the fact that they face no religious persecution."

Categorized by theme, November's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed according to theme and in alphabetical order by country, not necessarily severity.

Churches

Ethiopia: More than 500 Muslim students assisted by Muslim police burned down a church, while screaming "Allahu Akbar" (and thus clearly positing their attack in an Islamic framework); the church was built on land used by Christians for more than 60 years, but now a court has ruled that it was built "without a permit."

Indonesia: Hundreds of "hard-line" Muslims rallied to decry the "arrogance" of a beleaguered church that, though kept shuttered by authorities, has been ordered open by the Supreme Court. Church members have been forced to hold services on the sidewalk, even as Indonesia's leading Muslim clerics warned Christians that it would be "wise and sensible" for the church to yield to "the feelings of the local believers, specifically Muslims."

Iran: The nation's minister of intelligence said that house churches in his country are a threat to Iranian youth, and acknowledged a new series of efforts to fight the growth of the house church movement in Iran.

Nigeria: Islamic militants shouting "Allahu Akbar" carried out coordinated attacks on churches and police stations, including opening fire on a congregation of "mostly women and children," killing dozens. The attacks occurred in a region where hundreds of people were earlier killed during violence that erupted after President Jonathan, a Christian, beat his closet Muslim rival in April elections.

Turkey: The ancient Aghia Sophia church has been turned into a mosque. Playing an important role in ecumenical history, the church was first transformed into a mosque in 1331 by the jihadist Ottoman state. As a sign of secularization, however, in 1920 it was turned into a museum. Its transformation again into a mosque is a reflection of Turkey's re-Islamization.

So to my fellow Christians in America, while you are looking forward to the after-Christmas sales and gift exchanges, many more Christians are just looking for a peaceful place to simply observe their faith. To Christians everywhere I wish you all a Joyous and Blessed Christmas.