Enza Ferreri takes a look at the worldwide issue of the persecution of Christians, which barely merits a whisper in the mainstream media or by Western governments.
The West Has an Irrevocable Duty to Help the Christians of the World
by Enza Ferreri
Raymond Ibrahim’s fundamental new book Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians Amazon USA), (Amazon UK), has been widely reported, covered and praised and does not require an introduction, but it prompts a reflection.
The problem of discrimination against Christians and their persecution by Muslims is in fact two problems. Like unpunished crimes’ victims who suffer twice, for the crime and for the injustice of the criminal’s going scot-free, while the atrocities committed against Christians are unbearable enough on their own, the total indifference of the rest of the world adds to the pain.
Floods, earthquakes, natural calamities and man-induced ones like the recent collapse of a factory in Bangladesh attract lots of media coverage and offers of foreign aid, but this does not happen with what Raymond Ibrahim has rightly called “arguably the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis” and Andrew McCarthy “the great unspoken civil rights issue [and] scandal of our day”.
How much Western governments care about the plight of the Christians living in Muslim-majority countries can be seen by how indifferent they were to the systematic discrimination of which Pakistani Christians, during that country’s 2010 devastating floods, were victims in the distribution of aid — essential to survival — ironically donated by those very same historically Christian Western countries.
The Vatican, to its credit, was one of the few to highlight that injustice. I have never heard of a Western government — or any other government, for that matter — giving aid to Pakistan on that occasion only on condition that a fair and equal distribution was guaranteed.
In Islam “charity” has a different meaning from the Christian one, being a duty extended only to other Muslims. This semantic difference reflects that pseudo-religion’s division of humanity into the Muslim Ummah and the infidels, groups with very unequal status, whereas Christianity proclaims the equality of all human beings:
Allah has bestowed His gifts of sustenance more freely on some of you than on others: those more favoured are not going to throw back their gifts to those whom their right hands possess, so as to be equal in that respect. Will they then deny the favours of Allah? Quran (16:71)
There are theories that aspire to be scientific and are not — the many alternative medical disciplines, for example — and paintings or sculptures whose authors consider art but nobody else does. Similarly, Islam claims to be a religion but it fails the crucial tests for being one: making its faithful better persons and embracing reciprocity, one of the most fundamental, indeed basic, rules of ethics. Hence my choice of the appellative “pseudo-religion”: pretending to be a religion but not being one.
Foreign aid could in fact be used as a tool for Western governments and charities to demand equal treatment of Christians and other minorities in Muslim countries as a pre-condition for receiving that aid.
I have once provocatively advanced the proposal to give Pakistan, which is one of the world’s worst offenders in the persecution of Christians, “the South-African treatment”, isolating and repudiating it from the international community, which in the case of South Africa put pressure on Pretoria and played a big role in ending apartheid. The British Commonwealth, of which that country was part, turned out to be particularly important in this process. Pakistan is also a member of the British Commonwealth, from which it should be banned until it abolishes its blasphemy laws.
South Africa’s bans from sporting events were also used as effective means of pressure, and so could the banning of Pakistan from Commonwealth Games, Cricket World Cup, and similar events.
The obstacle is, obviously, the lack of political will.
The British Pakistani Christian Association’s petition calling for an end to British foreign aid to Pakistan until human rights improve has been rejected because “stopping UK aid to Pakistan will not accelerate progress on human rights and will only make conditions worse for the millions of poor and marginalized across the country, including the Christian community”, although the organization is still collecting signatures for the petition:
We the undersigned petitioners believe that any aid given by Britain to Pakistan should have approriate [sic] accountability and traceability. We urge the Government of the UK to ensure that a significant proportion of the £225m given in aid last year for improvents [sic] to the educational provision in Pakistan, is used to level the diasparity [sic] of opportunity between minority faith groups and the Muslim majority. We call for this disproportionality to be set as a priority before and above overall holistic educational reform. Only 7% of minority people in Pakistan attain an adequate level of literacy and 86%of minority people work as janitors, sewarage [sic] workers or domestic servants.
We also call for the UK to use the commitment to provide aid to challenge the Government of Pakistan to take tangible steps towards a better human rights record (currently 125th out of 160 countries on UN Development index).
Another measure that the West could implement is that of giving preference to Christian asylum seekers and immigrants over others.
In April a Dutch Members of Parliament “offered to consider special status for Christian asylum seekers and refugees fleeing extremism in Pakistan, after hearing a report from Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association”.
This was also the idea of Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, Archbishop of Bologna, one of the few high-ranking Catholic clergy with a realistic, non-appeasing approach to Islam. He wrote in September 2000 that, not for religious reasons but purely to favour the peaceful integration of immigrant communities into Italy, we should favour Christian immigration.
To his motivation we can add the great Christian humanitarian crisis. For two reasons we should be particularly concerned about it: first, the numbers; it is estimated that one Christian is killed every five minutes just for his/her faith, giving it priority; second, our particular relationship with the Christian world.
The West owes its existence to Christianity — along with Greco-Roman civilization — and in fact I consider the two terms synonymous. Christians the world over are culturally, if not geographically, part of the West: but then the West is a cultural, more than a geographic, concept.
So, although we should be concerned about all — not just Christian — oppressed peoples of the world, I think that we Westerners owe a particular debt of gratitude to these brothers and sisters who are discriminated against, persecuted and victims of violence just for being Christian, and despite that they keep their faith alive, the same faith that we take so much for granted that we have lost it.
They are martyrs in the true etymological sense of bearing witness to the value of the Christian faith.
Enza Ferreri is an Italian-born Philosophy graduate and writer living in London. She blogs at www.enzaferreri.blogspot.co.uk.
For her previous articles and translations, see the Enza Ferreri Archives.
Hatred against Christians is so intense in Islam that Muslims need not argue among THEMSELVES with the Sura the Author quoted.
So the “use” of this Suravers is Taquia to Admins to hinder them to start a discussion of spread of help.
And if they would leave without having helped Muslims such might turn their hate against Christians and other Minorities robbing them of their last food and possessions …… which is Quoran`s core ideology.
If they help and Muslims do accept some help also for Christians and other Non Muslims this could quickly lead to robbing as soon as the Admins left the place.
The only way to “use” a Flood or any other nature Catastrophe is to get Christians out of the Country if they are in the extreme minority situations as they are in Pakistan.
To help them inside any Muslim nation is only as long useful if they are in major groups, having also some political standings ……. and WISH to stay there. If they wish to leave everythint has to be done to get them out of hell.
This will also have a proper effect on Muslims in the region since they loose their cheap “slave force of Christians”.
The West may no more be depended upon to defend Christians than they are to defend Christianity. That ship has sail… sunk. And it’s more than a lack of political will at back of this – it’s a lack of belief – in anything that would suppose duty extended to anything more than distributing rights.
To aid Christians is as to support Israel. It is anti-Islamic. That is effrontery. This will not be stood for.
I don’t understand the first sentence in your last paragraph,, to wit:
To aid Christians is as to support Israel.
I find Christians on both sides of the fence when it comes to Israel.
Could you elaborate?
Christians are indeed on both sides of the fence when it comes to Israel; and those who have taken up the Palestinian cause have about as much interest in the suffering of Christians throughout the Islamic world as they have in the survival of status quo Israel. That the plight of those Christians should have been made a matter of public concern by the Wall Street Journal when Christian officialdom was silent both informs and instructs.
Western governments will not so much as admonish Islamic states over the cleansing of Christians from the Mid East and elsewhere. To aid Christians then is as unlikely as unequivocal support for Israel. To aid Christians is then as aggravating to Western fears as supporting Israel. Islam wants neither; the West is solicitous.
“He” finally got me again ……. its not, quote: “…to seperate lie for the cause of truth……”
Its: …… to seperate lies for the dustbin and to see truths and to live them.
I would prefer the West had some inclination to support Christians rather tha Al Qeda/Muslim Brotherhood, but that’s not reality.
What would be done with them? A commenter above said get them out. To where? You want some more welfare dependent foreigners in your country?
As it is, they’re in God’s hands.
Roger. the font in these comment forms, pre-approval, is very small. If I had seen someone say “get them out” it would never have been allowed in.
The Christians sacrafising Christians heterodoxy, which in the U.K. Christian mainstream manifests itself as a heresy of Christ mimicking in that fundamentally islam is the cross that Christians are to be crucified on, a heresy of Christian self-loathing.
I believe that church in the picture at the top of the article WAS a Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.
Since the 1999 war on Serbia on behalf of the radical Albanian muslim group the KLA,
over 250 churches and monasteries have been destroyed.
IT is NOTHING new for the USA to go all out for the muslims AT THE EXPENSE of Christians.
That 1999 war and its aftermath made me aware of just how much the USA bows to the Saudis and does their bidding…then the second Iraq war against Saddam made up my mind… obama is NOT the first American to bow to a Saudi ruler.
All this fighting in the ME is just so the Saudis CAN be the home of the new Islamic ruler who wants to rule the world and destroy all the Christians and the Jews…even the left wing ones in both religions. Oh, them and the minority islamic sects like the alewhites , shia and others.
Those submitted to islam head bands the islamics wear on their foreheads, which bears an inscription (seal) to allah, why that is nothing more than the MARK of THE BEAST.
Yes, we are war. And the USA is on the wrong side.
Clinton’s war against Christian Serbs in favor of Muslims was definitely wrong.
As for exactly who is the Beast, the False Prophet, and the AntiChrist mentioned in Revelations, I’ll admit I don’t know. Marxism, National Socialism, Islam, and modern leftist Christophobia are all certainly at least Satan’s Little Helpers, if not actually these infamous characters from the last book in the Bible.
The Bible warns us not to worship the Beast, not to accept his mark (666) because it will bring God’s wrath on such an individual. I think we should all distance ourselves from the evil ideologies mentioned above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iku8YzLFPpE
Check this out….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD246ig0-gI
These two vides are eye opening but not shocking when you know the truth about islam.
I may have posted the first in the series as the last one….
Quote:
Since the 1999 war on Serbia on behalf of the radical Albanian muslim group the KLA,
over 250 churches and monasteries have been destroyed.
end
A clear and obvious abuse of human rights on the scale of Nazi Germany against synagogues on Kristallnacht.
I will remember it.
Even though I’m sure Amnesty International and UNESCO have failed to see it for what it is. CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS GENOCIDE!
The Left does not care about Christians. I had a ‘discussion’ where I tried to put forward the deleterious effect on Coptic Christians in Egypt since the advent of the Islamist government–if a Leftist does not dismiss their persecution entirely, he or she will suggest that they have brought it upon themselves. That seems a bit unlikely considering they are only 10% of the population and are ruled by a hard-line Muslim government, but such arguments make no impression on convinced Leftists. They have limitless sympathy for the Muslims in Burma (or anywhere else, for that matter), but absolutely none for the Christians of Egypt.
I do not believe in God, but things have gotten such that I start to wonder if Satan has ascended over our civilization. I was reading Isaiah a few days ago; one passage stuck out for me.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” ~ Isaiah 5:20.
Calling evil good and good evil? That may as well be rule #1 of Leftist Club.
“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” ~ Isaiah 5:21.
And there is rule #2.
I had a sweatshirt made up with the logo of Sderot on it with Isaiah 5:20 written underneath.
I came to think along the same lines as yourself some time ago.
Awesome sweatshirt! If the artwork/design is any good, you should put it on Cafe Press so the rest of us can buy one.
Leftists have endless sympathy for Muslims and none for Christians. So true. Just as they sympathized with Stalin, Mao, Kim, etc, and not with their Christian victims in the gulags.
Glad to hear you’re reading the Bible and seeing evidence of Satan’s work in our civilization today. I turned from agnosticism back to Christ after reading the Bible and Solzhenitsyn, a wise and brave Russian who survived the war, gulags, and cancer, and turned from communist atheism to Russian Orthodox Christianity.
Jesus; don’t leave Earth without Him.
Jeremiah 8:11
“They have treated my people’s wound superficially, telling them, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”
This the verse I think of every single time I hear some political apologist for islam or muslim quacking about islam being a religion of “peace”.
Damn straight!
Nary a peep out of the Sec. of State or Obama about the attrocious treatment of Christians in the MENA, Turkey and Muslim countries.
“whereas Christianity proclaims the equality of all human beings”
So nobody is an illegal? Is this not the spirit which guides the left-liberals who are hell-bent on flooding the West with immigrants?
I’m sure I have not fully understood this christian concept, so that is why I would ask somebody to explain this more thoroughly.
In Messiah there is neither bond nor free, male or female, Greek or Jew.
So says Paul in one of his epistles.
This is a comment within the realms of ‘The followers of the way’ (early Christians) but it is not a comment about who is allowed to live where, and does not challenge ‘ethnicity’ so illegals remain illegal in that they have not crossed borders between nations in due legal process, something that was not so problematic in the Roman Empire.
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