Christian Persecution Around the World

[nChrist]

Pastor Roger,

Much of the world will never understand Christians - not even the basics. The examples are scattered throughout human history, including our own. The whole world thought that the colonists were insane in standing up to one of the most powerful and professional armies in the world. Those religious nuts didn't have a chance, but they won and founded America. Religious freedom was the driving force they were most willing to go to their deaths for. Those so-called religious nuts were our Founding Fathers. They were NOT a bunch of pansies or a force to be trifled with, regardless of having poor equipment and little or no training.

One of the secrets is that Christians don't fear physical death in the same way that the lost do. One fact that is NOT a secret is WE WILL WORSHIP GOD - Period! - End of Story! Nobody will be able to stop us, and they will be wasting their time in the attempt. If they physically kill us, we will simply go HOME to be with our LORD and SAVIOUR for ETERNITY. There should also be a just concern that we will again be willing to fight and die for our religious freedom. This is NOT a freedom to trifle with, especially considering that the majority of our country is still Christian. Majority or not, religious freedom is NOT something to trifle with. Changing the Constitution is the only way to take this freedom away, and that can't be legally done.

At least for now, I would say our government would have to be insane to attempt to remove religious freedom. The people won't allow this, and many serious consequences should be considered. This case would qualify for a Biblical NO! Things might change in the near future, and nobody knows how fast those changes could take place. However, the facts for Christians would not change. The answer would still be "NO", even if we were only 1% of the population.

All things for Christians during the Tribulation Period will be horrible. We also know that hosts of people will be Saved during the Tribulation Period, horrible times or not. Hosts of Christians will be beheaded, simply because of their faith in JESUS CHRIST as LORD and SAVIOUR. Many early Christians also died because of their Love for JESUS CHRIST, and I would think that to be a worthy way to die. Absent from the body - PRESENT WITH THE LORD!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Galatians 4:4-6 NASB  But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

[Soldier4Christ]

Christian Group Ordered to Stop Praying on a Washington, D.C. Public Sidewalk by Federal Law Enforcement Officials

by Staff

WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- The Christian Defense Coalition was sponsoring a public celebration of The Stations of the Cross when they were ordered to leave a public sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress while they were kneeling in prayer.

The group had been granted a permit by the United States Capitol Police and they were not blocking pedestrian traffic on the public sidewalk.

The Coalition calls the incident a trampling of the First Amendment and a gross violation of protecting religious expression in the public square.

Coalition Director, Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, wonders why anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint the United States Capitol Building with no consequences, while peaceful Christians were ordered to leave a public sidewalk for praying.

The Christian Defense Coalition is now in discussion with lawyers at the American Center for Law and Justice to consider all their legal options and ensure religious freedom is protected in the nation's capital.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, "One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the right of every America to peacefully express their views in the public square free from government interference and harassment. All citizens, regardless of their faith traditions, should be able to publicly express them with the full assurance that their beliefs will not be trampled or crushed by public officials or law enforcement. Sadly, that was not the case yesterday in Washington, D.C.

"It is extremely troubling when American citizens are told by federal law enforcement officials that they are not allowed to pray on a public sidewalk and they must 'move along' or face the consequences. The Christian Defense Coalition is in the process of considering all our legal options and will continue to work diligently to ensure that the First Amendment and free speech rights are protected in the public square."

[nChrist]

Rightfully so, law enforcement officers can face imprisonment and high fines for violation of civil and constitutional rights under the color of law.

I honestly think this would be the perfect case to take it as far as it will go. Big cases become known as what's called Landmark Cases, and they set precedence for many future actions. I have no idea how the praying Christians could lose this one unless there is some series of facts that we don't know about. They even had a permit.

Permits are usually associated with events that pose some possible danger to the public. An example might be a parade that blocks traffic and requires proper warning lights to avoid accidents. Other examples might involve inconvenience or delays in using public facilities. However, this case does NOT even suggest that a sidewalk was blocked. So, there is no hazard, inconvenience, delay, or any other circumstances that are generally associated with getting a permit. BUT, this is moot because they DID have a permit. The point is that a permit is not required to pray on a public sidewalk unless special circumstances are involved. The use of sound equipment would be a special circumstance, but this isn't mentioned either. So, I would conclude that they had every right to pray WITHOUT a permit under these circumstances. Their rights were violated in a most outrageous way.

The only thing that would make this case better as a Landmark Case is had they refused to comply and were arrested for exercising their civil and constitutional rights. The location and other circumstances are perfect. I think that the board of education needs to be applied to the seat of learning in this case.

[Soldier4Christ]

The law in Washington DC does not allow people to loiter or congregate in public without a special permit to do so. Protesters do not need a permit as long as they do not sit down, stand in one place or otherwise block traffic.  (exception: waiting to cross traffic, sitting on city provided benches) A city near me passed a law just like the one in DC. A person could not even stop to tie their shoestrings without getting a ticket for loitering. The situation in the city near here ended up in court and the city had to rescind the law because they didn't have the funds to fight it.

[nChrist]

I learn something every day. We used to have loitering ordinances in my city, but they were long ago thrown out as unconstitutional. Our loitering ordinances were specifically written for certain kinds of criminal activity (i.e. prostitution). It didn't matter if the person had convictions for that specific criminal conduct or not. So, we had to find other ways of dealing with certain criminal elements.

In this case, there isn't even a hint of criminal conduct, and I really don't know how they get by in using loitering type statutes that have been deemed to be unconstitutional. Regardless, they had a permit. Maybe D.C. has a track record of so many protests that resulted in violence or other problems that some Federal judge granted them an exception to use loitering statutes. I know that prostitution wasn't good enough for an exception here, so I'm curious and I'll check into it. I'm not even sure how one could call simple prayer a demonstration or protest. Don't tell anyone - this is a secret. I've prayed many times in Washington, D.C. anywhere I wanted to, and I'll pray there again if I go for a visit. If they arrest me solely because of prayer, I'll use the proceeds to build a church and youth center.   

[Soldier4Christ]

Don't tell anyone - this is a secret. I've prayed many times in Washington, D.C. anywhere I wanted to, and I'll pray there again if I go for a visit. If they arrest me solely because of prayer, I'll use the proceeds to build a church and youth center.   

Amen, go for it brother.

[Soldier4Christ]

I haven't see the written law but from what I gather through different news articles and announcements for different gatherings the loitering law is only for certain areas, mostly around the White House. It is probably one of those "for national security" things. This same law pertains to specified areas around a Military base.

[Soldier4Christ]

Iraqi Christians seek relative haven in Lebanon 
Refugees arrive with suitcases, horror stories from Muslim attacks

Its procession of frond-waving believers, the singing and chanting, and the proud parents snapping photos of their princess-garbed daughters made the Palm Sunday celebration in the Beirut suburb of al-Fanar look like any of the hundreds occurring all over Lebanon. But after the service, the conversations among parishioners revealed the special nature of this community. Many of them spoke Arabic with heavy Iraqi accents — al-Fanar has become a magnet for Christian refugees from Iraq.

It's hardly surprising that Iraq's Assyrian and Chaldean Christians would seek refuge from the chaos of post-Saddam Iraq in one of the most Christian countries in the Middle East — almost one third of Lebanon's population is Christian, and the country's presidency is reserved for them. "Iraqi Christians feel comfortable in a country where Christians have power," says Mark Samuel, the president of a Lebanese Assyrian political party. At the town's Assyrian Church of St. George, Iraqi refugees now make up almost one-third of the congregation. "It was bad in Iraq under the old regime," says James Isho, whose family fled Baghdad two years ago after the church next door to their house in the Dora district was bombed. "Now it's even worse."

Lebanon has a growing Iraqi refugee population, currently numbering between 20,000 and 40,000, according to the U.N. — a small fraction of the estimated 2 million Iraqis who have fled the spiraling violence in their country. But what makes Lebanon's Iraqi refugee intake unusual is that about 30% of them are Christian, although Christians constitute just about 3% of Iraq's population.

Many Christian refugees arrive from Syria on mountain paths used by smugglers, bringing with them little more than a suitcase or two and harrowing stories of rape, kidnapping and murder. Upon arriving, the first place many of them go is the Assyrian and Chaldean churches. "Every day five or six more families come here," says Bishop Michael Kisargi from the headquarters of the Chaldean Church in Lebanon. "Everyone can tell me a story about persecution by Muslims." One of the worst, he said, was from a family whose daughter had been raped 15 times by militia members.

As a small minority without a militia of their own, Iraqi Christians have been persecuted by both Shi'a and Sunni Muslim militias, and also by criminal gangs. "They think because we have liquor stores or live in nice neighborhoods we have more money," says Ghassan Mansou Chamoun, an Iraqi Christian from Mosul who arrived in Lebanon in December. The 36-year-old taxi driver left after receiving death threats from the Muslim family of one his passengers who died in an accident. "They wanted $50,000 or my head," he said.

Despite its own political troubles and last summer's war with Israel, Lebanon is peaceful in comparison to Iraq. But the Lebanese remain wary of accepting refugees, lest they upset the country's ever-fragile sectarian balance. Lebanon already houses 400,000 permanent Palestinian refugees, some of whom have lived here for almost 60 years without gaining citizenship. Tension over their presence helped trigger the civil war that ran from 1975 to 1990. "In general, every time you have new refugees, no matter what the number, it raises the Palestinian question," says Stephane Jaquemet, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees representative in Lebanon. Still, the U.N. has worked out an agreement with the Lebanese government whereby any Iraqi given official refugee status by the UNHCR can stay in the country for a renewable one-year period. (UNHCR now automatically grants refugee status to anyone from central and southern Iraq.) But most Iraqi refugees aren't legally allowed to work in Lebanon, and those who do usually take menial under-the-table jobs such as washing cars for $14 a day. A number of Iraqi women have ended up working as prostitutes.

The community relies largely on support from NGOs such as the Catholic charity Caritas, that has helped refugees of all religious backgrounds. But the churches say they are swamped. "I can't go on like this," said Bishop Kisargi, whose congregation has been supplying refugees with food and medicine and help finding homes. "We are a poor church and the situation is getting worse."

Kisargi is dismayed by his failure, during a trip to the U.S. last summer, to win support for Christian refugees from politicians and business leaders. The country he had once thought of as the apex of the civilized world is now ignoring its responsibilities, he said. "If you want to make a war, you have to protect the people."

Ironically, though, while Christians from Iraq are seeking refuge in Lebanon, many native Lebanese Christians are themselves trying to escape Lebanon's political and economic crisis. A recent poll of Lebanese Maronites, members of the country's largest Christian sect, found that half of them are considering leaving for a better life overseas. For Christians across the Middle East then, the onset of the Jewish Passover season is marked by a new exodus.

[Soldier4Christ]

Christians seek visas to flee Lebanon 
60,000 already have left, thousands more making plans

Christians are fleeing from Lebanon to escape the rise of radical Islam and growing fears that the trend will result in a Sunni-Shi'ite civil war, with minority Christians trapped in the middle.
    In a poll to be published next month, nearly half of all Maronites, the largest Christian denomination in the country, said they were considering emigrating.
    Of these, more than 100,000 have submitted visa applications to foreign embassies, according to the poll. Their exodus could rob the country of an influential minority, which has acted as an important counterbalance to the forces of Islamic extremism.
    About 60,000 Christians have left since the summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah. Many who remain fear that a violent showdown between rival Sunni and Shi'ite factions is looming.
    "If we love our children, we have to tell them to get out," said Maria, a Christian mother from the northern city of Tripoli who refused to give her surname for fear of reprisal. "When my daughter finished her high school, I sent her to Europe, and I will follow her if I can."
    Christine, another Christian woman, said all of her family's younger generation had left the country, adding that Tripoli had become increasingly Islamized in recent years. There is a rising number of veiled women and religiously bearded men on the streets -- although she blamed economic and political instability for much of the emigration.
    Christians, who make up 22 percent of the population, have historically played a major role in the development of Lebanon's political, social and cultural institutions.
    Currently, the president, the army commander and the head of the central bank all are Maronites, and under the agreement that ended the civil war in 1989, half the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament are reserved for Christians.
    "Lebanon has always been a bastion of religious tolerance, but now it is moving toward the model of Islamization seen in Iraq and Egypt," said the Rev. Samir K. Samir, a Jesuit teacher of Islamic studies at Beirut's Universite Saint-Joseph.
    Lebanon's Christian community is concerned that its influence is waning as a result of a continuing internal power struggle, which for the past five months has pitted a Sunni-led government against a predominantly Shi'ite opposition, spearheaded by the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah.
    The collapse in influence has been exacerbated by a roughly equal split in support among Christians for rival Shi'ite and Sunni leaders. The battle between Muslim factions has paralyzed the Lebanese administration and hurt the economy.
    The exodus of young workers crosses the religious spectrum. About 22 percent of Shi'ites and 26 percent of Sunnis say they are considering going abroad, according to the study by Information International, an independent Beirut-based research body.
   

[Soldier4Christ]

Playground dispute could bring death penalty
Family prays for escape from made-up blasphemy charges

A childhood dispute over playing together could result in the death penalty for five Christians, after their Muslim neighbors made up accusations of blasphemy against them, according to a new report from Voice of the Martyrs.

The ministry organization that monitors persecution of Christians worldwide, and works on their behalf, said the newest case was just reported by organization sources in Pakistan.

In the city of Toba Tek Singh, five Christians – Rashid Masih, Salamat Masih, Sahba Masih Motta, Bao Masih and Sheela Masih – right now are living under the threat of physical attack from Muslim extremists, and in fact the stability of the relationship between Muslims and Christian in the entire region is endangered, the report said.

All because of a disagreement among children over playtime.

"Daniel, an 11-year-old Christian boy, refused to play with his Muslim friends, resulting in them beating him," the Pakistani source told Voice of the Martyrs.

"Daniel's family confronted the Muslims who called the police and made a false report saying Daniel's family had blasphemed the name of the Holy Prophet," the source reported.

Now the five are charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws 295-A and 295-C and are in fear for their lives.

"The Muslim family told other Muslims at a religious gathering that Christians had disgraced the Holy Prophet, tore a holy sticker and beat it with a shoe. This has led to tension in the city," the Pakistani source, who was not identified by name, told VOM.

"Christians in the area fear Muslim extremists will attack the family. There is fear there will be (other) attacks this week during celebrations leading up to Easter Sunday," the source reported.

According to Pakistani laws, a conviction under blasphemy laws 295-A and 295-C can result in imprisonment of up to three years, a fine and the death penalty, or life imprisonment and a fine.

"Pray God protects these believers and provides a way of escape for them," VOM said in its alert about the life-threatening situation.

Claims of blasphemy are easy to submit to authorities in Pakistan, and extremely difficult to defend against. They also are becoming more and more common, according to VOM reports.

It was just a few weeks ago Martha Bibi, who lives in the village of Kot Nanka Singh, was taken into custody after a false allegation of blasphemy against her.

She had gone to some local builders, asking about materials they had borrowed from her family's construction supply business. An argument resulted and the report was made that Martha had blasphemed Muhammad.

"Pakistanis ought to be ashamed that such a mockery is being made of their legal system," Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, said at the time. "Accusing a Christian of blasphemy to get them arrested is no way to resolve an argument. It is high time for Pakistan to repeal its infamous blasphemy laws."

Voice of the Martyrs had announced just a few days earlier that yet another Pakistani man, Shahbaz Kaka, was being treated at a medical facility after being released from a life prison term for blasphemy, of which he served six years.

In that case, VOM said, Qari Rafique, the head of a mosque, asked the man why he was using the toilet that was adjacent to the mosque. After he noticed a cross around his neck, he made a series of false accusations against Shahbaz, including statements to authorities that he "disgraced" the Quran by tearing pages out, cutting them into pieces and trampling them under his feet, a VOM source reported.

His arrest followed immediately, and he later was charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his "crime," according to VOM.

"We wonder about the injustice of his arrest and the six years he spent in prison," said Todd Nettleton, the director of media development for VOM. "We are concerned for other Christians who still face persecution in Pakistan, and encourage the Pakistani government to provide true religious freedom in their country."

According to records, Christians have faced severe opposition from militant Islamic groups since Pakistan was formed in 1947 as the Muslim section in the partition of British India.

Christians routinely are barred from jobs and Christian merchants are harassed, and since the war in Afghanistan started, problems have intensified since Pakistani Christians are seen as being a part of an attack on Islam, VOM reported.

Sharia law, Islamic religious law, was adopted in 1998, and that further limited the rights of Pakistani Christians.

While Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan assures every citizen the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion, Christian organizations working within Pakistan report reality is quite different.

"Unfortunately very little evidence is needed to make a charge under the blasphemy laws and it is very difficult for non-Muslims to successfully contest the accusations," said one analyst.

That law reads: "Whoever by words, either spoken, or written, or by visual representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly, or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death."

Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and to educate the world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices.

It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured for his refusal to recant Christianity.

He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound scars on his body.

The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized in 1967, when his book, "Tortured for Christ," was released.

[Soldier4Christ]

Teacher made girl remove Jesus magnet 
Mother of 5th grader confronts board, claims discrimination

Wrightsville Elementary has since ordered that all magnets be removed from desks.

A mother alleges Wrightsville Elementary School officials discriminated against her daughter when she was told to remove a magnet from her desk because it said, "Smile, Jesus Loves You."

Tawny Lehman said her daughter, fifth-grader Laurie Lehman, was asked to remove the magnet March 30, after a teacher noticed it.

"What possible harm could this magnet do?" her mother asked the Eastern York School Board during its April 5 meeting. "I mean, what if a white supremacist demanded that a magnet featuring a black boy be removed because they found it offensive, would students have to comply?"

After Lehman called the district to complain about her daughter being forced to remove her Jesus magnet, school Principal Donald Gillett ordered that all magnets be removed from student desks.

Reached Monday, Gillett would not say if the ban extended to stickers or other message-type items. Instead, he referred all questions to Supt. Darla Pianowski.

Pianowski could not be reached for comment. But during the board meeting, Pianowski said each principal is responsible for making the decision for their buildings on what type of items students can display.

Pianowski said Gillett was advised, after consulting with district solicitor Philip Spare, to make his decision based on an all-or-nothing philosophy, meaning every magnet stays or every magnet goes.

Issue extends to yearbook photos

In addition to the magnet issue, Lehman said she was also disturbed that a photo of Laurie meant for the yearbook would not be included because she was wearing a shirt that promoted Jesus.

After Lehman complained to the district, the PTO, which sponsors the book, decided to preclude all photos from being used.

"It is within (the PTO's) rights to withhold all photos from the yearbook since it is their project," Pianowski said.

School board Vice President Richard Zepp said he understood the legal reasons behind the decision to remove the magnets and photos en masse. But he also said that, if Jesus is the biggest threat facing his district, he could be happy with that.

"I think the world has become more super-sensitive than it has to be," Zepp said.

Expression vs. distraction

Lehman, having attended the meeting with an armful of laws supporting her daughter's right to express herself in religious terms, agreed with Zepp.

Still, Pianowski said, the district has the right to create a learning environment free of any and all distractions.

The board currently does not have a specific policy addressing student desk adornment. But the board said it would examine the issue at its April 19 meeting, when the solicitor is present.

[Soldier4Christ]

Professor says religious, political bias blocked his promotion

A professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) who alleges he was denied promotion and harassed by superiors at the school because of his religious and political beliefs has filed suit in federal court over the matter.

According to Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorneys who filed suit for Professor Mike Adams, he applied for merit promotion from associate to full professor in 2004 -- but the interim chair of UNCW's Sociology and Criminal Justice Department criticized Adams' political preference and nationally syndicated column, and nothing on the application was furthered. According to ADF, the temporary department head's criticism included a request that Adams modify his writing style to be less "caustic" and more "cerebral."

In 2006, Adams applied again for promotion, but was turned down by the new department head and a committee of senior faculty members. In a press statement, ADF describes that new department head, Dr. Kimberly J. Cook, as "an outspoken atheist who openly criticized Christianity."

Adams' lawsuit alleges he was often the victim of attempts to silence his religiously-based viewpoints; subjected to multiple intrusive investigations based on false charges; and denied promotion because of his beliefs, which he says was evident in statements from various colleagues.

ADF senior legal counsel David French calls it "indefensible" for a university to refuse promotion to a "gifted and accomplished professor" simply because its representatives -- whom he describes as "narrow-minded officials" -- disagree with his religious and political views.

"In an institution of higher learning," says French, "professors should be promoted based on the quality of their work -- not discriminated against on the basis of their beliefs." But by their actions, adds the ADF attorney, UNCW officials have in fact discriminated against Adams and violated his constitutional rights.

[Soldier4Christ]

Although it has not reached the extent that it is in many overseas nations it is still evident that persecution of Christians in the U.S. is on the rise and is moving toward that direction.

[Soldier4Christ]

Iraqi Christians forced to pay 'protection tax'
Muslims enforcing Islamic law requiring tribute or conversion

Christians in a Baghdad neighborhood are being required to pay a "protection tax" because Muslims have begun enforcing an Islamic law demanding either the tribute – or conversion to Islam, according to Christians in Iraq.

The report from the Assyrian International News Agency follows on complaints from Iraqi Christians that they have been caught in a no-man's land between the Coalition forces and Muslim militants in Iraq, watching as their churches have been bombed, and men and women assaulted and killed.

The newest report said Muslims in the Dora neighborhood are forcing Assyrians, who also are known as Chaldeans and Syriacs, but who largely are Christian, to pay the jizya, the poll tax demanded by the Quran.

Christians – and Jews – must pay the tax "in exchange for being allowed to live and practice their faith as well as being entitled to 'Muslim protection' from outside aggression," the agency reported.

The news agency said elements of Al-Qaida have moved into the region, and there is no evidence of any security forces, either from the Iraqi national armed services or Coalition forces being led by the United States.

In one section of the region, "people have been warned by these insurgents to uninstall the satellite dishes since this is 'haram' [forbidden] is Islam," the report said. "Where Christians live in Hay Al-Mualimeen [teachers quarter] and Hay Al-Athorieen [Assyrian quarter] is where they are telling people to convert, leave, pay 'jizya' taxation," AINA reported.

According to an e-mail uncovered by the agency, one person reported that it has been going on for some time.

"We talked to many people within the American Embassy and Iraqi Government, but it seems nobody really cares, because they have done nothing, or sometimes I wonder if they care at all," said the e-mail, from an unidentified resident in the region.

"Neither the Iraqi nor the U.S. Army have any activity there, and they have delivered Dora to insurgents; and above all the U.S. Army went and put a camp in the Chaldean church [Babylon Theology College] to raise the hate among those Muslims toward Christians, as they are seeing them [as] allies for Americans, and that worsened things more."

Another Syriac, now a refugee in Syria, confirmed the actions. "Today a family [name withheld] arrived from Dora/Mualimeen street, and they said some terrorists knocked on their door and when they opened the door they were told to either pay money [jizya] or support the insurgents or convert to Islam, or leave the house within 24 hours or else be killed," the individual said.

AINA had reported several weeks earlier that the practice was beginning. The organization said then that "at least" two cases had been reported to the government in which Christian Assyrian wives had been ordered to go to a certain mosque and make payments, which "they did out of fear."

"The stated reason for the payment was 'we do the fighting and you pay to support,'" AINA said.

Such tributes have been collected since the arrival of Islam in 630 A.D., but the last systematic collection by the Turks came to an end in 1918 when the Ottoman empire was defeated and partitioned at the conclusion of World War I.

A report from Assist News said that the names of the individuals who have spoken up were being withheld to protect them from retaliatory actions.

Christians in Iraq repeatedly have sought help from American political leaders, demonstrating in front of the White House just a few months ago to highlight the persecution under which they suffer. Although they represent just 5 percent of the Iraqi population, 40 percent of the refugees fleeing Iraq are Christian.

One of the speakers at the rally, Nina Shea of Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom in D.C., told WND that because of the "ethnic cleansing," the Christians want an autonomous district in Iraq they can administrate.

Among the atrocities documented just in recent months:

    * Father Paulos Eskandar, of Mor Afrem Syriac Orthodox Church, was kidnapped Oct. 9 by Muslims and decapitated two days later. He was murdered despite Christians fulfilling a demand to post a text on the church doors condemning the pope's statement about Islam.

    * On Oct. 4, a car bomb detonated in a Christian area and killed nine people, including Georges Zara, member of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac National Council.

    * A 14-year-old boy was crucified and stabbed in the stomach, mimicking what was done to Jesus, in Albasra.

    * On Oct. 21, in Baquba, a group of veiled Muslims attacked a workplace where a 14-year-old boy named Ayad Tariq worked. The men asked the boy for his identity card. After seeing he was Christian the men asked whether he was a "dirty Christian sinner." Ayad answered: "Yes, I am Christian, but I am not a sinner." The rebels yelled he was a dirty Christian sinner and continued to grab him and to scream, "Allahu, Akbar! Allahu, Akbar!" The boy then was decapitated.

    * In August, 13 Assyrian Christian women in Baghdad were kidnapped and murdered.

    * In January, churches were bombed in Basra and Baghdad.

Shea said she has been raising the plight of the Iraqi Christians with the U.S. government for several years, including in a face-to-face meeting with President Bush in her role as a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

[ibTina]

12 to Be Charged in Turkey Bible Murders
By Associated Press
Sun Apr 22, 8:54 PM

ANKARA, Turkey - A court jailed five suspects Sunday on murder charges linked to the killings of three Christians who were tied up and had their throats slit at a publishing house which had drawn protests by nationalists for distributing Bibles.

Six others were released pending trial, the court said. It was unclear what charges the six faced and a trial date has not yet been set. A 12th suspect, who tried to escape from police by jumping from a fourth-floor balcony at the scene of the killings, remains hospitalized in stable condition and was expected to be charged later.

The three victims _ a German man and two Turks who converted to Christianity _ were killed Wednesday at a Christian publishing house in Malatya.

The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether the predominantly Muslim country _ which is bidding for European Union membership _ can protect its religious minorities.

Christians make up just a fraction of 1 percent of Turkey's population of 71 million.

Christian leaders said they are worried that nationalists were stoking hostilities against non-Turks and non-Muslims by exploiting growing uncertainty over Turkey's place in the world.

The uncertainty _ and growing suspicion against foreigners _ has been driven by the faltering EU bid, a resilient Kurdish separatist movement and by increasingly vocal Islamists who see themselves _ and Turkey _ as locked in battle with a hostile Christian West.