Christians in Islamic Countries Being Targeted & Persecuted
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Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: NewsMax.com
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Wed Oct 17,2001 -- The situation of Christians has deteriorated rapidly in many Islamic countries since the terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the subsequent U.S.-British raids on Afghanistan, according to Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom. A prominent U.S. imam Monday publicly assailed as un-Islamic the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries ranging from Indonesia to Nigeria. "The Koran enjoins Muslims to treat everybody with dignity and compassion," claimed Muzzamil Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, Calif., when asked about the rapid rise in murder threats, violence, forced conversions, incarceration and discrimination some Christians are being subjected to. Diane Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, praised Siddiqi's remarks as a wonderful statement. "We need more of this. We need Muslim groups in the U.S. to raise their voices on behalf of Christians in predominantly Muslim areas." Knip pers pointed out that "U.S. churches were quick to speak up on behalf of Moslems in our society. They rightly encouraged all America to treat them with respect.

But, at the same time the churches should speak up when Christians in Muslim areas are in jeopardy." The National Council of Churches' news service also condemned the persecution of Christians Monday. Marshall, an internationally recognized authority on religious rights, said Christians were in peril in a long belt of Muslim nations stretching from the eastern parts of Indonesia all the way to West Africa.

In an interview with United Press International, Marshall drew a grim picture for Christians, country by country:

• Indonesia: In the eastern islands of this largest Muslim nation in the world, white-uniformed militiamen of Laskar Jihad are forcibly converting Christians to Islam. Marshall said this caused considerable embarrassment to the government, which did not condone such actions. This campaign has so far cost the lives of 5,000 to 6,000 people, the British-born scholar related. "There are links between Laskar Jihad and top terrorist Osama bin Laden," he said.

• Bangladesh: Small radical groups supporting Osama bin Laden have bombed or burned down churches.

• Pakistan: Christians depend on the protection of the government as several Muslim leaders have issued fatwas (religious decrees) to kill 2 Pakistani Christians for every Afghan Muslim who dies in the Anglo-American air raids. There have also been attacks on Christians along the Afghan border, Marshall told UPI.

• Egypt: The government discriminates against Christianity by financing the construction of mosques, while denying permits for the reconstruction of Christian sanctuaries, according to Marshall.

• Saudi-Arabia: In the last 2 months, 15 Christian expatriates have been jailed for worshiping in private homes, and three have been tortured, according to the religious rights organization International Christian Concern. An information officer at the Saudi embassy in Washington, who declined to give his name, denied this Tuesday: "As far as we know this is not true. We are not aware of any in jail at this time," he said. But, no religion other than Islam is allowed in the kingdom, and there is no church. When asked about this, Abdullah M. Khouj, rector of the Islamic Center in Washington, replied, "This is a matter to be negotiated between governments."

• Sudan: Some 2 million people, chiefly Christians, have been killed in a civil war fought by the radical Islamic regime in the north of the country against non-Arab population in the south, according to several sources including Marshall and Diane Knippers' Institute on Religion and Democracy. For several years now, international religious rights organizations have been reporting what is going on: that Christians are being raped, tortured to death and crucified.

• Somalia: Anybody found out to be a Christian will quickly be beheaded by Muslim vigilantes, Marshall said.

• Nigeria: In 12 states, versions of Shari'a law, the Islamic penal code, have been imposed - in violation of the constitution of that African federal republic. After the imposition of Islamic law, riots ensued killing 5,000 in the city of Kaduna alone, said Marshall. Other reports put the death toll at around 1,000.

• In other Muslim countries: (such as Algeria, etc.) Islamic radicals opposed to the government are killing other Muslims, primarily women and children although they have also murdered priests, nuns and even a bishop, Marshall explained. Others, such as the once-tolerant, formerly republican African nation of Mauritania are now taking tougher measures against Christians, Marshall continued. "If you arrive with a Bible, they'll take it off you. And it's illegal to preach Christianity to the locals."