When will we realize Christianity is under attack

By Michael Coren, www.mi­chaelcoren.com This artical was published in The Catholic Register November 21, 2010
The recent massacre of more than 52 Iraqi Catholics inside their church by Islamic terrorists is best described as the work of some crazed, gruesome optician. Because while Christians in Islamic states have suffered for decades, now much of the world, including and sometimes particu­larly the Christian world, seemed blind to what was going on. It took this latest atrocity to clear the vision of many who prefer political myopia.
Let's be clear why these innocent men, women and children were slaughtered while at prayer in what all civilized people know to be a sanctuary. Militant Muslims at best grudgingly tolerate Chris­tianity and often see it as a foreign, Western, heretical cancer that has to be removed- from the body of Islam. In Iraq there has also been a determined attempt to provoke Christians into joining the virtual civil war between Sunni, Shiite and the rest. So far and to their great credit Christians have not retali­ated.
What they have done, and what Christians have done throughout the Middle East, is leave. Resulting in the evaporation of an historic community that pre-dates Islam and has worshipped as followers of Christ while those who knew Him personally were still alive. One of the horrible ironies of the Iraqi satiation is that under Saddam Hussein Christians were not singled out for persecution and even enjoyed religious tolera­tion in what was - contrary to what some would have you believe - a secular state where religious fundamentalism was not only controlled but vehemently rejected.
Syria has a similar approach and the thriving Christian community, around 10 per cent of the popu­1ation, is part of the fabric of the country. The same applies to a large extent in Jordan. In Egypt, however, there is widespread perse­cution where Christians face daily discrimination and are frequent­ly targeted for violence, forced conversion and even murder ­sometimes with government in­difference and even police partici­pation in the sectarian violence. In Saudi Arabia it is effectively illegal to even be a Christian.
Palestine is more complex. Christians and Muslims co-exist­ed in the area and continued to do so long after Israel was created in 1948. Christians left more often than Muslims because they tended to be more educated, were less attached to the notion of "the land" and had more connections in and familiarity with the West.
Today there are still numerous parts of the West Bank where Pal­estinian Christians live equal and full lives but, tragically, Islamic fundamentalism here and es­pecially in Gaza has created a whole sea of problems and many Christians would rather swim to a foreign shore than drown at home. Supporters of Israel will argue that the Christian exodus from towns such as Bethlehem is all the fault of Islam, enemies of the Jewish state will tell you it's about Israeli aggression. Truth is it's a combina­tion of both.
Outside of the Arab world the situation also varies. Pakistan has become a living hell for Christians, with this small and often besieged community blamed for every­thing from political problems to natural disasters. Christians have been beaten to death for merely
praying and blasphemy laws are used to arrest and torture them. In Indonesia there is far more civility but Muslim extremist groups have been responsible for the murder of Christians, including the beheading of young girls on their way to school. In Iran Christians face regular persecution, in sub ­Saharan Africa an increasingly fanatical Islam and a flow of Saudi money and Jihadist propaganda had led to internecine strife and downright pogroms. Then we have Europe.
There is increasing evidence that in Muslim-dominated areas of France, Sweden, Britain, Holland, Germany and Denmark Christians are insulted, threatened, spat at and told that they have to leave. Not the stuff of churches being destroyed and worshippers killed but a tre­mendously worrying sign of the shape of things to come. Unless, that is, we are very careful indeed and believe factual reporting rather than Little Mosque on the Prairie.
The future? It won't be the culture war neo-con warriors would have us fight but must be a time for brutal honesty. Not because we are anti-Muslim or want conflict but because Christians have a right to live and worship wherever they want. A desire that is only extreme to an extremist.
(Writer, broadcaster, speaker, Michael Coren can be reached at www.mi­chaelcoren.com.)