Christians persecuted in Islamic nations
Abuse, forced conversion, torture ? even in 'moderate' Muslim
countries
Amid the current unrest in Saudi Arabia in the wake of
America's war on Islamic terrorists, Middle East Newsline is
reporting arrests and even torture of Christians in the
"moderate" Saudi kingdom.
"Christian sources in the kingdom said at least 15 Christians
from Africa have been arrested in Jedda over the last few
months for conducting non-Islamic services in private homes.
Three of them are said to have been tortured in prison," said
the defense news service.
It was the first confirmed report of physical torture of
Christians detained for worship in the kingdom, according to
the report.
"Saudi Arabia does not allow the worship of any other religion
other than Islam. Jews are not allowed in the kingdom and
Christians are warned that they risk arrest if they participate
in private prayer gatherings," said the report.
Persecution of Christians rampant
Indeed, according to the November issue of Whistleblower
magazine, titled "JIHAD: The radical Islamic threat to
America," the current report from Saudi Arabia is part of a
widespread pattern of persecution of Christians throughout the
Islamic-controlled nations of the Middle East, northern Africa
and elsewhere.
In his Whistleblower article, "Islam: from toleration to
terror," Paul Marshall, one of the world's leading authorities
on religious persecution, states: "The Saudi restriction on the
expression of any religion besides Islam means, quite simply,
that Christian worship is banned. It is illegal to wear a cross
or to utter a Christian prayer. Christians cannot even worship
privately in their own homes."
Because they operate under the Islamic Shari?a law, adds
Marshall, "the Saudi government pressured the allies in
Operation Desert Storm about religious observances. They
demanded that Christian and Jewish soldiers not be allowed to
wear any symbols of their faith when they were in service in
Saudi Arabia. This was mandated, even though the troops were
there to defend Saudis from invasion by Iraq."
Religious repression in Saudi Arabia has only increased since
the Gulf War, says Marshall.
While the West frequently focuses on Shari?a law for its brutal
punishments, including amputations, "its legal procedures can
be equally terrifying," notes Marshall. "The Saudi judicial
system provides little chance of a reasonable defense against
accusations, since defendants have no right to be represented
by lawyers. Torture is widespread. Confessions obtained under
torture can be accepted by courts as evidence -- sometimes the
sole evidence -- for a conviction."
While scarce Western press attention has focused on the
horrendous persecution ? including forced conversion to Islam,
slavery, torture and crucifixion -- meted out to the Christians
and animists in southern Sudan by the radical Islamic regime in
the northern capital of Khartoum, even less Western media focus
is drawn by the persecution of Christians in so-called
"moderate" Mideast nations like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Egypt -- kidnapping, rape, forced conversion
In November's Whistleblower magazine, Marshall, author of
"Their Blood Cries Out," documents a number of examples of
Christian persecution and forced conversion in modern Islamic
nations. Here is one:
Mary, a young Egyptian girl, displays her fragile wrist, which
is encircled by an ugly bracelet of scarred flesh. Her
disfigurement bears mute witness to the brutal abduction, rape
and nine-month captivity she endured at the hands of Islamic
kidnappers. As part of their program to transform Mary into a
Muslim, her captors poured sulfuric acid on her wrist to remove
the tattooed cross she wore as a statement of her faith.
Mary grew up among Egypt's 6 million Coptic Christians, a
minority community that faces increasing mistreatment from
Islamic zealots. At 18 years of age, she was visiting a
friend's home when she was kidnapped by a group of radicals
from the "Gamat Islamiya."
After they raped her, Mary's captors moved her from one
suburban hideout to another. Along with sexual abuse, she was
required to fast, pray, and memorize portions of the Qur'an.
At first, Mary tried to refuse to wear the traditional Islamic
veil. "They warned me that if I removed it they would throw
acid on my face," she later told reporters. Eventually, unable
to resist her captors' demands, she signed official papers of
conversion to Islam.
While Mary was held hostage, her father went to the Cairo
police. They told him to forget Mary ? she was in the safe
hands of Islam. In fact, the distraught man was forced to sign
a pledge that he would cease his search for his daughter. Along
with other family members, he was warned that if any of them
interfered with Mary and she was harmed, they would be held
responsible.
Fortunately, Mary escaped. She was given assistance by a
clandestine group called "Servants of the Cross," who sheltered
her. Although conversion to Christianity from Islam is
considered apostasy in Egypt, and Shari'a law calls for a death
sentence, the Servants aided her as she reconverted to
Christianity. In Egyptian society, rape victims are often held
responsible for their plight, and are sometimes killed. With
this in mind, the organization also helped Mary find a
Christian husband.
Servants of the Cross took Mary to a tattooist, who reapplied
the cross to her wrist, just above the disfiguring scar. One of
the organization's representatives explained, "I supervise
between 30 and 35 reconversions every month. In all Egypt there
are between 7,000 and 10,000 cases of forced conversion to
Islam. It is our duty to save them."
"These circumstances exist not simply despite Islam," notes
Marshall. "Unfortunately, they are expressions of a particular
and increasingly powerful form of militant Islam."
Marshall's in-depth piece in Whistleblower focuses on the
plight of Christians in five Islamic countries -- Sudan, Iran,
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the U. S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom is urging the Bush
administration not to ignore flagrant human-rights abuses in
the interests of holding together its coalition with Saudi
Arabia and other "moderate" countries. According to Middle East
Newsline, the commission wrote a letter to Bush demanding that,
"in forging alliances against terrorism, the United States not
compromise its commitment to human rights including religious
freedom and democracy. We oppose such policy trade-offs."
worldnetdaily.com |
