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this is a compilation of stories.


A Christian woman who survived an attack on a Baghdad church in October was shot dead in her bed by gunmen who made off with money and some of her possessions.

Rafah Butros Toma was most likely killed because of her religion, Agence France-Presse reported.

The gunmen used weapons equipped with silencers to shoot her as she slept. She was the latest victim in a string of attacks on Christians in Iraq. In Egypt, Coptic Christians were victims of a New Year's Day bombing at their church in Cairo.




On Saturday, a suicide bomber blew himself up when Christians left a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria after attending the New Year Mass (celebrated January 7th). Twenty one were killed and nearly 100 others were wounded in the blast.

From 1992 to 1998, Islamic extremists in Egypt are thought to have killed well over a hundred Copts. Thereafter, the largest murder took place in 2000 when 20 Copts and one Muslim were killed after violence broke out in El-Kosheh, a town a few hundred kilometers south of Cairo. There were a number of attacks of Copts and much harassment in the following years. On 6 January 2010, after Christmas mass, three Muslim gunmen killed six Copts and a Muslim policeman in Nagaa Hammadi near the South-Egyptian town of Qena.

The attacks were followed by threats on an al-Qaeda connected website which indicated that Coptic churches in Europe would also be targeted. As a result, Coptic New Year services in various European countries had to be guarded.





Men armed with rifles and machetes killed 19 people in attacks on three villages in volatile central Nigeria, authorities said Tuesday.

Three homes were attacked in the Christian village of Kuru Station about 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the central Nigerian city of Jos, a flashpoint of religious tension between Christians and Muslims, a community leader said.

He said villagers told him armed men woke up the houses' occupants around midnight with gunshots and forced them out before setting their homes ablaze and attacking them with machetes. In total, 19 people, including women and children, died in the assaults and at least three others were injured, police say.





Two Christian women were beaten up and publicly humiliated by an angry mob on charges of blasphemy in Pakistan.

The incident took place on Jan. 12 in Lahore after a Muslim woman accused her Christian sister-in-law of abusing Prophet Mohammed.

The two women had a trivial dispute following which the Muslim woman went out on the street and leveled charges against the Christian.

Later, a group of men led by Muhammad Sameer, a member of a religious organization, forced their way into the Christian woman’s house and slapped her and her mother, her brother said.

He said their neighbors also started beating them.

Khadim Hazoor, Sameer’s son-in-law, said the mob blackened the Christian women’s faces and forced them to wear shoes on their necks and paraded them in the village on donkeys.




Iran has arrested about 70 Christians since Christmas in a crackdown that demonstrates the limits of religious tolerance by Islamic leaders who often boast they provide room for other faiths.

The latest raids have targeted grass-roots Christian groups Iran describes as "hard-liners" who pose a threat to the Islamic state. Authorities increasingly view them with suspicions that range from trying to convert Muslims to being possible footholds for foreign influence.

Christian activists claim their Iranian brethren are being persecuted simply for worshipping outside officially sanctioned mainstream churches.

Caught in the middle is the small community of Iranian Christians who get together for prayer and Bible readings in private residences and out of sight of authorities. They are part of a wider "house church" movement that has taken root in other places with tight controls on Christian activities such as China and Indonesia.

In past years, authorities have staged arrests on Christians and other religious minorities, but the latest sweeps appears to be among the biggest and most coordinated.


okay, first off, what are your thoughts on this string of attacks against christians in predominantly muslim countries? and secondly, the u.s. state dep. has come out and condemned these attacks, but shouldn't the president directly condemn them as well? if nothing else, he has the biggest platform in the world from which to speak, and would surely bring much more awareness to what's been going on. and thirdly, i can't help but to think that if such a string of violence had been carried out in the west, against muslims, that it would be sensationalized in the news media.

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http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/08/thousands-muslims-human-shields/

I just wonder why religion is so violent.  I would think it should bring peace and love to people.  But, IMO, it make people crazy with righteousness.  I believe all people have to follow what they believe is their God.  It isn't for me or anyone else to choose for another.

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Originally Posted by Lelania Bailey:
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/08/thousands-muslims-human-shields/

I just wonder why religion is so violent.  I would think it should bring peace and love to people.  But, IMO, it make people crazy with righteousness.  I believe all people have to follow what they believe is their God.  It isn't for me or anyone else to choose for another.

religion doesn't kill people, people kill people. most religions are about peace and love, but like anything else, with time, man corrupts it, and uses it to justify the unjustifiable. the same has been done with nationalism, ethnic purity, you name it.

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Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
In Egypt, Coptic Christians were victims of a New Year's Day bombing at their church in Cairo.

And now the Muslim Brotherhood (an Islamic group banned in Egypt...a group that strongly opposes Western colonialism, and helped overthrow the pro-western monarchies in Egypt and other Muslim nations during the early 20th century...a group who's main goal is to create an Islamic world), is now involved in these riots.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
In Egypt, Coptic Christians were victims of a New Year's Day bombing at their church in Cairo.

And now the Muslim Brotherhood (an Islamic group banned in Egypt...a group that strongly opposes Western colonialism, and helped overthrow the pro-western monarchies in Egypt and other Muslim nations during the early 20th century...a group who's main goal is to create an Islamic world), is now involved in these riots.

of course, because for so long, there's been no outlet for dissenting voices. it's been either tow the government line, or be repressed. so they don't have any of the structures in place to bring about change, and guess who's going to step in to fill the void now that everything has boiled to the surface? it's the same old song and dance. the west supports an oppressive regime because it can clamp down on any kind of extremism or communism, or whatever, and turns its head while said government victimizes it's citizenry, and leaves them in abject poverty.

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Here's something we had to think about though.  Egypt is sitting hard on the banks of the Suez Canal.  Millions of barrels of oil is shipped through the canal to Europe and to us.  Egypt is also on Israel's border.

We pretty much had to agree to send aid and support them.  To do otherwise might have led to war.

I agree that we morally shouldnt have done this.  But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.  Diplomacy is a dirty job I guess.

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my point is, if the west stood by any of its principles, rather than what is economically or politically advantageous, then perhaps this never would have happened in the first place. you're telling me that with all of the foreign aid we send to places like egypt, and all the defense contracts we sign with them, that we couldn't have long been pushing for more democratic and open societies over there? look at it this way. we've made all these countries relatively rich, while the people over there have remained in poverty. maybe i'm just an idealist, but i think we should stand by our morals.

why do you think the shah of iran was overthrown? what do you think led to the islamic revolution in that country? we did the same with the shah, as we have done with mubarak. he was living a life of luxury with the support of the west, and look what happened. the poor got fed up, and who stepped in to fill the void? history just keeps repeating itself, yet we never seem to learn.

no wonder so few people in that region believed us when we said we wanted to bring democracy to iraq. no wonder we have zero credibility with the muslim world.

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Yeah...I agree.  Morally we should do the right thing.  And many people over there dislike us because we propped up corrupt regimes.  But there's another way to look at it.

Here's one problem we probably faced.  In 1947 The UN proposed an independent Jewish Nation.  This was spearheaded by probably our greatest ally...Great Britain (whom we'd just aided in WW2).  And this was likely done as a result of the concentration camps we found in Nazi Germany.  They recognized that the Jews needed a place to live freely and safely.

Now, Egypt went to war with Israel.  But once peace was secured between the two...chances are that we felt it was best to do whatever we could to help preserve the peace there.  This may be why we decided to give aid to Egypt.  Egypt, in turn, has helped thwart many attempts to destroy Israel since then.

So yeah...Egypt may have been a repressive regime.  But there's repression...and then there's repression.  It appears things might have been a lot worse.  So I think there was a good reason to stay on good terms with them.

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Let me also add that K.T. McFarland said today that it is interesting that we arent seeing American Flags being burned in these protests.  She pointed out that most protests int he Arab world include the burning of our flag and shouts of Death to the Great Satan, etc.  But we arent seeing this at present.

This might indicate that the people there do not hold the USA responsible for their plight.  I hope this is the case.  Our President should handle this situation very delicately.  I dont think we should get involved too much yet.  Handle things quietly, behind the scenes with phone calls and intel.

When the regime topples (as I feel it will), if Egypt doesnt become a theocracy, if they decide to instal a democracy there, we should then jump in and support them.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Let me also add that K.T. McFarland said today that it is interesting that we arent seeing American Flags being burned in these protests.  She pointed out that most protests int he Arab world include the burning of our flag and shouts of Death to the Great Satan, etc.  But we arent seeing this at present.

The thing is, most of the protests where the american flag was being burned were pretty much organised (or at least influenced) by the governments in those countries as a sort of "safety valve" - if the people were busy protesting against the "Great Satan" and the "Little Satan" (Israel), then they weren't protesting against their own government.  

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Well, at least out of the chaos there are some people who are thinking about protecting their heritage:

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20110129T131758ZPCI54

Makes a nice change from the looting of the museums in Baghdad during the american invasion.....

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that is pretty awesome, but sad that some artifacts have already been stolen and destroyed.

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Originally Posted by Kieran Colfer:

Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Let me also add that K.T. McFarland said today that it is interesting that we arent seeing American Flags being burned in these protests.  She pointed out that most protests int he Arab world include the burning of our flag and shouts of Death to the Great Satan, etc.  But we arent seeing this at present.

The thing is, most of the protests where the american flag was being burned were pretty much organised (or at least influenced) by the governments in those countries as a sort of "safety valve" - if the people were busy protesting against the "Great Satan" and the "Little Satan" (Israel), then they weren't protesting against their own government.  

Thats a good point.  

But here's the irony.  In recent posts we have heard other members here (as well as News pundits) say that the US is guilty because we have been giving aid and billions to these govt tyrants.

So if that is true...why would they then turn bite the hand that is supposedly feeding them?

Also interesting to note that we are now hearing some Anti-American stuff in the Egypt protests.  Most likely from members of Mubarak's group.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Thats a good point.  

But here's the irony.  In recent posts we have heard other members here (as well as News pundits) say that the US is guilty because we have been giving aid and billions to these govt tyrants.

So if that is true...why would they then turn bite the hand that is supposedly feeding them?

Also interesting to note that we are now hearing some Anti-American stuff in the Egypt protests.  Most likely from members of Mubarak's group.

it's more like they're biting the hand that fed their oppressive government, not them. it never filtered down to the people themselves. there's the disconnect. we feel that if we are sending money to a country that we are buying the loyalty of that country, when in reality we're simply buying the loyalty of country's regime. the relationship between that country's government and its citizens is still dependent on internal forces, such as freedom, democracy, and economic opportunity. if those things are absent, and you're not seen as helping to bring them about, then all your money does is breed contempt among the masses, because all it's doing is perpetuating their situation.