Middle East Quarterly: Arab Uprisings May Doom Middle East Christians

The following by Hilal Khashan is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

Arab Uprisings May Doom Middle East Christians

by Hilal Khashan
Middle East Quarterly
Fall 2014 (view PDF)

http://www.meforum.org/4801/arab-uprisings-may-doom-middle-east-christians

Not even having the Arabic word for resistance (muqawama) tattooed on his right arm could save the life of avowedly-secularist, pro-Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni. The Italian leader of the blockade-breaking Free Gaza flotilla was executed by Salafists for "spreading corruption" and having been born in an "infidel state."

In April 2011, Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian activist and "journalist" who had spearheaded the blockade-breaking Free Gaza flotilla was kidnapped from Hamas-held territory and shortly thereafter, killed. His captors and executioners were not a branch of the Israeli special services but members of a local Islamist group, Salafists going by the name Jahafil al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad fi Filastin (Armies of Monotheism and Holy War in Palestine). The Salafists released a YouTube video in which they accused Arrigoni, a secularist, of "spreading corruption" stemming in part from his connection to his birthplace, an "infidel state."[1]

"He came from across the world, left his country and family and his entire life, and came here to break the siege, and we kill him? Why?" cried one of his Gazan friends.[2]The answer is essentially twofold. For one thing, bias against Christians is embedded in a literal interpretation of Qur'anic verses, and apparently a sizable number of Muslims, and certainly Salafists, take the Qur'an literally. For another, a preponderance of Muslims views Middle Eastern Christians as an extension of Europe and thus a constant reminder of past colonial encroachments and supremacy over them. A survey of past examples and those of more recent vintage bears out this assessment unambiguously.

Will The Media Forget About Meriam Ibrahim in Sudan?

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Sudan Mother's Case 'Tip of the Iceberg' on Islamic Persecution

by Raymond Ibrahim
CBN News
June 6, 2014
http://www.meforum.org/3858/sudan-mother-case-tip-of-the-iceberg-on-islamic

Evidence has again emerged indicating that if Western mainstream media actually reported more on the sufferings of Christians throughout the Islamic world, their lot would likely improve.

Meriam Ibrahim, a woman who is imprisoned in Sudan and sentenced to death on the charge that she apostatized from Islam and converted to Christianity—and who recently gave birth to a baby girl in prison—was reportedly going to "be freed in a few days," according to a BBC report:

Abdullahi Alzareg, an under-secretary at the foreign ministry, said Sudan guaranteed religious freedom and was committed to protecting the woman.
Khartoum has been facing international condemnation over the death sentence.
In an interview with The Times newspaper, British Prime Minister David Camerondescribed the ruling as "barbaric" and out of step with today's world (emphasis added).

Of course, soon after the BBC reported that Ibrahim would be freed, other reports appeared indicating that that is only a rumor—one that the BBC, which regularly tries to minimize the specter of Muslim persecution of Christians, jumped on—that Sudan was merely trying to save face before the international community.

Raymond Ibrahim: Islamic Terror vs. Norway Massacre: Chicken or Egg?

The following article by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted with permission

Islamic Terror vs. Norway Massacre: Chicken or Egg?

by Raymond Ibrahim
Jihad Watch
June 14, 2012

http://www.meforum.org/3263/islamic-terror-norway-massacre

Ever since last year's Norway massacre, when Anders Breivik killed some 70 people, the relativists and Muslim apologists of the world felt exonerated: for here at last, thought they, was proof positive that terrorism had nothing to do with Islamic teachings per se. If Christianity cannot be blamed for Breivik, why blame Islam for al-Qaeda?

This question was restated in a recent email to me from Gehan D. Sabry, editor of Cross Cultures, a website dedicated to "Promoting Harmony Through Knowledge and Better Understanding." Regarding my recent article, "A Tale of Two American Martyrs," where I discussed the slayings of two American Christians in the Muslim world due to allegations of proselytizing, she wrote:

[…] I know enough fellow Christians who agree with me that the majority of Muslims and Christians, in fact the moderates of ALL religions ... get along just fine, and only the radicals of each are the ones who make the news, and cause turmoil and tragedy in this world ... when I read this article of yours, I immediately remembered the psycho from Norway who killed over 70 youth recently ... why don't you try to explain that away for me?

My explanation, which may be of general interest—this question of moral equivalency plagues the many who think on superficial terms—follows:

Why Christianity Is Outpacing Islam--And The Implications

Around the globe Christianity is growing and mutating in ways that observers in the West tend not to see. Tumultuous conflicts within Christianity will leave a mark deeper than Islam's on the century ahead.
Philip Jenkins, The Next Christianity

Between the weakening of the Church after the rash of sexual scandals on the one hand and the resurgence of Islam on the other, the global predominance and outright dominance of Islam is a new reality that the world will have to come to grips with.

Or maybe not.

Maybe that is the old Christianity you're thinking of.

Philip Jenkins writes about The Next Christianity, the resurgent Christianity that is outpacing Islam--perhaps even in global politics: