--- In [email protected], "janet mills" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/07/islams_global_war_against_chri .html > Islam's Global War against Christianity > By Patrick Poole >
Religious freedom at risk across Asia (overview) On the occasion of a rally in Italy "against the exodus and persecution of Christians in the Middle East and for religious freedom around the world," AsiaNews looks at the violations of religious freedom in Asia. Middle East SAUDI ARABIA (Inhabitants: 24,293,844 Christians: 840,000) Viewed as a negative example by John Paul II, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia simply denies religious freedom to all non-Muslims. All non- Islamic religious activity, even by individuals in the privacy of their homes such as possession of non-Muslim religious books and objects, is banned. There are no official figures but it is estimated that hundreds of Christians are languishing in prison, primarily for leading prayer meetings. IRAN (Inhabitants: 65 million; Christians: 340, 000) Christians in Iran are tolerated as second class citizens, as a distinct `ethnic minority' that is separate from the rest of society and subject to a series of restrictions. Churches are `protected' but also controlled by police. Missionary activities are strictly banned. Lack of religious freedom and economic prospects push those Christians who live in Iran to emigrate. Some Muslims do convert to Christianity but in secret and outside of the country. Several Protestants have been arrested and have had their religious material seized. Some converts have been condemned to death, their sentence sometimes commuted to life in prison. Baha'is are subjected to strict controls, have seen their places of worship destroyed, and have had some of their members executed. IRAQ (Inhabitants: 28 million; Christians: 1,5 million) A Chaldean and an Orthodox priest have been killed after being seized by Islamic groups. Currently, the prevailing situation of anarchy, lack of security and rising fundamentalism have made Christians totally insecure. In some areas of the country, Christians have been raped, abducted, ransomed, threatened and murdered largely for religious reasons. Dozens of churches have been the target of terrorist attacks or destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled abroad. According to some unofficial estimates, more than half of all Iraqi Christians are in exile. Lack of law and order, insecurity and growing violence have also pushed many Muslim families to emigrate. It is a humanitarian emergency for all Iraqi refugees but most of them are Christian. PALESTINE (Inhabitants: about 2,900,000 Christians: about 200,000) Free in theory, Palestinian Christians suffer from widespread harassment and have sometimes been violently attacked like the Sisters of the Rosary last month in Gaza. Generally, the authorities do not intervene. The situation has grown worse with the rise of fundamentalist groups like Hamas and Jihad. Hundreds of thousands have left the country. In Bethlehem 20 years ago Christians constituted 80 per cent of the population, now they are just 10 per cent. In Nazareth they were a majority, now they are only 15 per cent. SYRIA Inhabitants: 17,585,540 - Christians: 920,000 Syria's Christians like all other Syrians lack more political liberty than religious freedom. Still the country's Christian minority is declining. Catholics have dropped from 2.8 per cent of the population in 1973 to 1,9 per cent in 2005. TURKEY (Inhabitants: 68,109,469 Christians: about 100,000) Theoretically secular, the Turkish state still refuses to officially recognise Christian Churches which are even denied the right to own their places of worship. Recently, Turkey's Supreme Court ruled that the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople cannot call itself `ecumenical' despite being so for the past 17 centuries. Muslim fundamentalism is also growing in the country and has taken a violent turn. Fr Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest in Trabzon, and three Christian employees of a Protestant publishing company, are among those killed. Many Christian believers and clergymen have been attacked. More to come... http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9734&size=
