Monday, April 29, 2019

MIDDLE EAST CHRISTIANS FLEE MURDERING MUSLIMS



‘Nobody Will Go Back’: Christians Flee Middle East After Fall of Islamic State



Iranian Christian worshippers attend the Christmas mass at the Saint Joseph Chaldean-Assyrian Catholic church, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. Iranian Christians are a minority and recognized by the constitution in the Muslim country and are represented in the parliament. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
EDWIN MORA
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The number of Christians in the birthplace of their faith, the greater Middle East, continues to plummet months after the Islamic State, which waged a genocidal campaign against Christians, lost its “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, Breitbart News learned from various experts, including an archbishop.

“Unfortunately, it can be stated that the Islamic State group’s anti-Christian campaign was very successful in Iraq, and to a certain extent, successful in Syria,” John Hajjar, the co-chair of the American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) and co-director of the Middle East Christian Committee (MECHRIC), told Breitbart News.
“I think we have no more hope,” Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, the diocesan legate in America’s capital and ecumenical director for the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church of America, also told Breitbart News, referring to the future of Christianity in its Middle East cradle. “Middle East Christians have no nation that protects them openly.”
The number of Christians in Middle East-North Africa (MENA), as a component of the overall Muslim-majority population, has dropped substantially — from about ten percent in 1900 to between two and four percent now.
There are different estimates for the overall number of Christians that vary from about 12 million in the Middle East alone to about 20 million in MENA, Breitbart News learned from the experts and data from U.S. government and independent sources.
“The future for Christians right now is terrible — a Middle East without Christians. We are going to have churches without Christians as museums for tourists. There will be no Christians left,” the archbishop warned, echoing other analysts who have constantly cautioned that Christianity is on the verge of extinction in the Middle East.
“The number of Christians in the Middle East has already dropped extensively,” he further declared, accusing church leaders of inflating the actual numbers of Christ followers in the region to minimize the fact that Christianity is on the brink of extinction.
The bishop urged U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to do even more to help Middle East Christians.
Contradicting assertions by the Trump administration, the Church leader said, “People are not coming back. I can assure you that nobody will go back.”
The Trump administration has disbursed billions in funding to help victims of ISIS genocide, namely Christians and Yazidis, but the bishop told Breitbart News it is “not enough.”
“Trump is going to be a hero for the Christians in the Middle East if he takes more action,” he said.
Addressing President Trump, Archbishop Aykazian added, “Please help the Christians. They need your help and once you move one of your fingers the entire Arabic world will thank you. If he does such a thing, it is going to change everything. If he doesn’t, they will suffer.”
“The ball is in Trump’s court,” he further said.
In Iraq, which experts say has experienced the most dramatic drop in Christians due to jihadis and Iran-allied groups, Aykazian told Breitbart News that number has decreased from 1.6 million to less than 100,000, marking a drop of more than 90 percent.
“A similar situation is taking place in Syria’s Aleppo where there has also been a drop of more than 90 percent in Christians, from 360,000 to about 25,000 now,” he said, noting, “The church leaders don’t want to say those statements because they fear their followers will be disillusioned.”
ISIS’s genocide campaign targeted religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, primarily Christians and Yazidis, killing tens of thousands of them and taking some hostages as sex slaves.
“They [Christians] realized just how insecure they are,” Nina Shea, a religious freedom expert at the Hudson Institute, told Breitbart News. “Their own governments fail to protect them, and ISIS gained popular support within some neighboring major Sunni areas, like Mosul.”
Archbishop Aykazian said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi “so far has been the best leader in the Middle East for defending Christians.” he said, adding, “The biggest Christian majorities are in Egypt.”
Shea pointed out, “Egypt retains ten million Coptic Christians. That is the only place where I see a certain future for them [Christians].”
“In a generation, Egypt may be the only remaining country with a robust Christian community that traces its roots to the earliest Christian church,” Shea added. “Elsewhere in the Middle East, only remnants of these ancient communities may survive.”
Nevertheless, Shea and the bishop acknowledged that, even in Egypt, Christians are confronting the spread of Sunni extremism and anti-Christian bigotry.
The ongoing war against Islamic terrorism continues to kill, wound, and push Christians out of their historical homelands in the greater Middle East, even in Egypt.
“More recently, after the Arab Spring and with the rise of ISIS, tens of thousands of Christians were killed in Iraq and Syria,” Hajjar said. “Close to 1 million Christians in the region have gone into exile.”
“Following multiple terrorist attacks in Egypt against the Copts, many Christian Egyptians also emigrated from their country,” Hajjar continued. “We can estimate that more than 25-30 percent of Christians in the Middle East have been affected by the recent wars and conflicts.”
The experts also attributed the ongoing demise of Christianity in the Middle East to certain governments’ disdain towards followers of Christianity and their refusal to protect them.
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly designated Christians as “enemies of the state.” In Iraq, the country that experienced the sharpest drop in the number of Christ followers in recent years, Baghdad-sanctioned Iran-allied Shiite militias have reportedly taken Christian lands and are harassing them.
Referring to the countries that have experienced the largest decline in Christians, Hajjar named Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Lebanon. Similar to Hajjar’s list, the bishop said, “Iraq is number one, Lebanon is number two, and Syria is number three.”
The experts conceded that the Trump administration had done more to help Middle East Christians than his predecessor, but they argued that Christians are far from protected and more can be done.



Five of the 37 'terrorists' tortured and beheaded by Saudi Arabia were gay lovers, say confessions 'extracted by Bin Salman's torturers' in nation where homosexuality is punishable by death 

  • Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced Tuesday it had executed 37 nationals 
  • One allegedly confessed to having gay relationships with four of his co-accused
  • Court documents have revealed how many disputed their 'confessions' at trial 
  • After the executions one of the condemned was crucified and put on display 
Five victims of a Saudi mass execution were gay lovers, according to a confession which appeared at their Sharia court trial.  
One of the 37 men beheaded on Tuesday allegedly admitted to having sex with four of his co-accused 'terrorists,' but many complained at trial their confessions were obtained through torture.
The Shia man's homosexual relationships appeared in lines alleging he confessed to hating the state and the Sunni sect, the court documents obtained by CNN showed.
Homosexuality is punishable by death in the Gulf state which adheres to Sharia law. 
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman (pictured) is the subject of scrutiny over alleged human rights abuses - court documents revealed the condemned pledged their allegiance to the royal family in desperation
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman (pictured) is the subject of scrutiny over alleged human rights abuses - court documents revealed the condemned pledged their allegiance to the royal family in desperation
Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced on Tuesday that 37 Saudi nationals had been executed [file photo]
Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced on Tuesday that 37 Saudi nationals had been executed [file photo]
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The court document obtained by CNN stated: 'He said that he did all this because he belonged to the Shia sect and because he was against the Sunni sect, and because of his hate for the state and its men and its security forces.'
But the man denied the charges against him and his lawyer claimed the confession was totally fabricated.  
He was among fourteen convicted of forming a 'terror cell' in the city of Awamiya after anti-government demonstrations in 2011 and 2012.
One of the condemned - Munir al-Adam - is recorded as saying: 'Those aren't my words. I didn't write a letter. This is defamation written by the interrogator with his own hand.' 
Al-Adam was just 23 when he was arrested at a government checkpoint in April 2012.
Mujtaba al-Sweikat was 17 when he was detained at King Fahd International Airport in 2012 - he had been planning on studying in Michigan
Mujtaba al-Sweikat was 17 when he was detained at King Fahd International Airport in 2012 - he had been planning on studying in Michigan
He was beaten on the soles of his feet and had to crawl on his hands and knees for days.
As a five-year-old boy he had lost his hearing in one ear following an accident, but after torture he lost hearing in the other and was left totally deaf. The 27-year-old was executed on Tuesday.
Two of those beheaded were just 16 and 17 when they were arrested - including one who was set to start a new life in the US at Western Michigan University. 
Mujtaba al-Sweikat, then 17, was severely beaten all over his body, including on the soles of his feet, before 'confessing' to crimes including attending protests in 2012.
In 2017, staff at the university said the English language and pre-finance studies student showed 'great promise' and called for him to be released.  
Abdulkarim al-Hawaj, 21, was the youngest executed, four years after being arrested in the country's Shia-majority Eastern province for spreading information about protests on WhatsApp. 
At the time of his arrest, staff at Western Michigan University said the English language and pre-finance studies student, Mujtaba al-Sweikat, showed 'great promise' and called for him to be released
At the time of his arrest, staff at Western Michigan University said the English language and pre-finance studies student, Mujtaba al-Sweikat, showed 'great promise' and called for him to be released
Under international law, putting to death anyone who was under 18 at the time of the crime is strictly prohibited.
Human rights charity Reprieve said al-Hawaj was beaten, tortured with electricity and chained with his hands above his head until he 'confessed' to his crimes.   
Reprieve said both men were sentenced to death at the end of 'sham trials' when they were denied access to lawyers.
It claimed they were held for months in solitary confinement and their convictions were solely based on their 'confessions' which were extracted under torture.
At his trial, al-Hawaj was convicted on cyber crime charges including spreading information on WhatsApp 'as proscribed by the cyber crime bill' and sentenced to death. 
Abdulkarim al-Hawaj was beheaded in Saudi Arabia after being arrested as a teenager for spreading details about peaceful protests on WhatsApp
Abdulkarim al-Hawaj was beheaded in Saudi Arabia after being arrested as a teenager for spreading details about peaceful protests on WhatsApp
Another victim, Hussein Mohammed al-Musallam, said in court: 'Nothing in these confessions is correct and I cannot prove that I was forced to do it. But medical reports ... show the effects of torture on my body.'
State-run media said on Tuesday those executed had 'adopted extremist ideologies and formed terrorist cells with the aim of spreading chaos and provoking sectarian strife'. 
The U.N. human rights chief condemned the beheadings, saying most were minority Shi'ite Muslims who may not have had fair trials and at least three were minors when sentenced.  
The sentences were carried out in Riyadh, the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, central Qassim province and Eastern Province, home to the country's Shiite minority.
Three other prisoners who were under 18 at the time of their alleged crimes, Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher, remain on death row. 
Al-Marhoon told Reprieve he was tortured and made to sign a blank document, to which Saudi officials then added his 'confession'.  
Executions in the ultra-conservative kingdom are usually carried out by beheading.  
At least 100 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year, according to a count based on official data released by SPA. 
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (pictured) slammed Mohammed Bin Salman on Tuesday over the execution of al-Sweikat
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (pictured) slammed Mohammed Bin Salman on Tuesday over the execution of al-Sweikat
Abdullah al-Zaher was also sentenced to death for crimes they allegedly committed under the age of 18
Under international law, putting to death anyone who was under 18 at the time of the crime is strictly prohibited. Pictured: Dawood al-Marhoon
Abdullah al-Zaher (left) and Dawood al-Marhoon (right) were also sentenced to death for crimes they allegedly committed under the age of 18.  Under international law, this is strictly prohibited and they remain on death row
Last year, the oil-rich Gulf state carried out the death sentences of 149 people, according to Amnesty International, which said only Iran was known to have executed more people.
Rights experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials in Saudi Arabia, governed under a strict form of Islamic law.
People convicted of terrorism, homicide, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking face the death penalty, which the government says is a deterrent for further crime.

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