Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians (2 page)
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Authors: Raymond Ibrahim
BOOK: Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians
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—Mark Durie, Anglican pastor, theologian, and human rights activist
“The mainstream media might ignore the persecution of Christians around the world—but Raymond Ibrahim does not. An American Christian of Egyptian Coptic ancestry, fluent in Arabic, he exposes one of the most tragic under-told stories of our time: how Christians are being murdered or driven from their churches and their homes by Islamists. I urge every Christian who cares about his fellow Christians in Islamic parts of the world to read this incredibly important book.”
—Pat Robertson, bestselling author, host of the
700 Club
,
chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network,
and founder and chancellor of Regent University
700 Club
,
chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network,
and founder and chancellor of Regent University
“At a time when the Western media obsess over the slightest insult to Muslims, Raymond Ibrahim exposes the extensive Muslim persecution of Christians all across the Islamic world, an epidemic of violence and murder ignored by Western reporters and enabled by a foreign policy of appeasement. In addition to exhaustively documenting this outbreak of religious violence, Ibrahim shows how it is consistent with traditional Islamic supremacist theology and laws that justify violence against infidels, apostates, and proselytes. Meticulously researched and passionately written, Ibrahim’s book is a must-read for all concerned about the future of Christianity and the wages of a misguided foreign policy.”
—Bruce S. Thornton, research fellow at Stanford University’s
Hoover Institution and author of
The Wages of Appeasement
Hoover Institution and author of
The Wages of Appeasement
To M.M.—He who arises in Might
“To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over
again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
—Hebrews 6:6
A NOTE TO THE READER
T
his book covers the persecution of Christians across the Islamic world. We will be examining recent incidents from across a wide geographical spread, from Morocco to Nigeria to Indonesia—and even sometimes in Western Europe and North America. We will also be delving back into the past to consider the treatment of Christians under Muslim rule from the time of the earliest Islamic conquests. But rather than dividing this material by continent or century, I have organized the evidence thematically, to demonstrate the continuity and interconnectivity of Christian persecution under Islam.
his book covers the persecution of Christians across the Islamic world. We will be examining recent incidents from across a wide geographical spread, from Morocco to Nigeria to Indonesia—and even sometimes in Western Europe and North America. We will also be delving back into the past to consider the treatment of Christians under Muslim rule from the time of the earliest Islamic conquests. But rather than dividing this material by continent or century, I have organized the evidence thematically, to demonstrate the continuity and interconnectivity of Christian persecution under Islam.
Christians are being persecuted in Muslim countries today for the same reasons as in past centuries. And the patterns of persecution—the same motivations, the same actions, and the same horrific results—recur in countries as different as Kenya and Denmark. Those patterns, I will demonstrate, emerge from themes in the Koran, in Islamic theology, in Sharia law, and in Islamic culture. Along the way, we will be looking at Muslim doctrines concerning Christians and Christianity and primary historical texts from the early centuries of Islam, as well as at the situation of today’s Christian populations from one end of the Muslim world to the other.
The continuity that is observable in Muslim mistreatment of Christians—by Muslims of different nations, races, languages, and cultures; from Morocco in the west to Indonesia in the east, and from Turkey in the north to sub-Saharan Africa to the south; in “white,” “yellow,” “brown,” and “black” nations—makes it clear that one thing alone accounts for such identical patterns in such otherwise diverse nations: Islam itself—whether the strict application of its Sharia, or the supremacist culture born of it. No economic, political, or ethnic cause for the violence is relevant to all these widely divergent settings.
After reading what follows, however, the discerning reader may ask, “If Muslim persecution of Christians is ubiquitous in the Muslim world, if it is intrinsic to Islam, why is it that some Muslim countries figure much more prominently in this book than others?” Indeed, some of the more “moderate” Muslim nations, such as Indonesia, see many more incidents of horrific anti-Christian violence than nations well known to be radical, such as Afghanistan. Does not this incongruity suggest that Christian persecution is not a product of Islamic doctrine and culture but of secular factors such as race or economic problems?
The answer to this conundrum is in the numbers—comparative numbers of Muslims and Christians, that is. The ratio of Muslims to Christians in any given country—or, looking at it another way, the proximity of Christians and Muslims—is the primary factor explaining which countries see the most and the least Christian persecution. For example, Saudi Arabia, which is vehemently anti-Christian, generates fewer incidents of persecution than some Muslim nations that are generally deemed moderate. The reason for this is simple: Saudi Arabia has nipped the problem in the bud by banning Christianity altogether; there are no churches to bomb or burn. Likewise, the ravages of the historic jihad have exterminated or nearly exterminated Christian populations throughout the Muslim world. For example, the whole of North Africa, prior to the Islamic conquests, was Christian—it gave the world St. Augustine, the giant of theology who played a major role in articulating Western Christianity. But today there are virtually no Christians left to persecute from Morocco to Libya. Christians now make up less than 1 percent of that entire population.
On the other hand, the very large numbers of Christians in Egypt—according to the baptismal records of the Coptic Orthodox Church, there are some 16 million Christian Copts in Egypt
1
—prompt regular bursts of anti-Christian persecution. Indeed, as one of the oldest and largest Muslim nations, with one of the oldest and largest Christian populations, Egypt is a kind of paradigm of Islam’s treatment of Christians—both in the present and going back more than thirteen centuries. Accordingly, it figures prominently in this book.
1
—prompt regular bursts of anti-Christian persecution. Indeed, as one of the oldest and largest Muslim nations, with one of the oldest and largest Christian populations, Egypt is a kind of paradigm of Islam’s treatment of Christians—both in the present and going back more than thirteen centuries. Accordingly, it figures prominently in this book.
In sub-Saharan countries where Christians often make up half or even more than half of the entire population, persecution gives way to genocidal jihads as Muslims in these countries try to purge their lands of any trace of the “infidel.” Nigeria, for example, is experiencing appalling violence; the accounts of persecution included in this book are only the tip of the iceberg of Christian suffering in Africa. Of course, wherever and whenever Christians are killed or driven out there will be less persecution there—simply because there will be fewer and fewer Christians to target, as nations that used to have significant Christian populations slowly become more like Saudi Arabia: infidel-free and thus ostensibly “peaceful.” This may be the future of Iraq, whose small Christian population has shrunk dramatically as a result of the jihad there. In Nigeria, where Christians make up nearly half the population, we are being offered a rare glimpse of early Islamic history repeating itself, as Muslims use violence to subjugate or kill very large numbers of non-Muslims in the name of Islam and through jihad. That is the true story of Islam’s spread from Arabia.
Even in the West, the numbers theory—that anti-infidel intolerance is predicated on the Muslim-to-non-Muslim ratio—holds up. The Muslims of the United States are relatively nonviolent, but they amount to less than 1 percent of the entire population. It is a different story in Europe, where there are much larger percentages of Muslims. France, which has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, also seems to see the largest amount of Muslim intolerance for Christians and their churches.
A note on sources: Major media in the West (network and cable news, the Associated Press,
New York Times
, the BBC, and so forth) cover some of the most spectacular instances of Christian persecution—for example, church bombings that leave dozens (as opposed to only a few people) dead. But many daily run-of-the-mill incidents of persecution are never reported by those sources. Moreover, even when stories are reported, the facts are often articulated in a way that minimizes the religious element of the persecution—to conform to the secular script of the Western mainstream media, which is largely blind to the influence of religion in current events.
New York Times
, the BBC, and so forth) cover some of the most spectacular instances of Christian persecution—for example, church bombings that leave dozens (as opposed to only a few people) dead. But many daily run-of-the-mill incidents of persecution are never reported by those sources. Moreover, even when stories are reported, the facts are often articulated in a way that minimizes the religious element of the persecution—to conform to the secular script of the Western mainstream media, which is largely blind to the influence of religion in current events.
One must look elsewhere for the full picture. Fortunately there are a number of alternative media outlets and human rights organizations that report on the sufferings of Christians around the world. Most of these are little known. However, after following their work for years and becoming acquainted with several of their journalists around the Muslim world, I can testify that their work is first-rate. World Watch Monitor (formerly Compass Direct News), the media component of Open Doors, is one of the most authoritative sources on the sufferings of Christians, with reporters spread out around the world. So is International Christian Concern. There are also local news services that offer good coverage of certain regions. For the Near East, Egypt in particular, the Assyrian International News Agency is a good source for objective reports (most of which are easily verified by comparison with open Arabic sources). Readers are encouraged to follow the endnotes to the many anecdotes listed in this book for links to some of the most reliable English-language websites covering Christian persecution around the world.
Even so, a great many instances of persecution simply never make it onto any English-language media at all. There are just too many incidents to keep up with—not to mention that some nations are especially inhospitable to Western journalists. On top of that, many Western journalists are at best uninterested in Muslim persecution of Christians. Even some big stories widely reported in the Muslim world never make it into English. For example, it was left to me to first translate and disseminate the assertion by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches” in the Arabian Peninsula.
2
2
I routinely get my stories straight from the source. I follow the Arabic-language media and can often verify stories via my many contacts and colleagues in the Middle East. Many of the reports that appear in this book—including the entire section on the Maspero Massacre, which initially was woefully misreported by the Western media—were identified, verified, and translated by me directly from Arabic sources. In many cases I have augmented reports appearing in Western media with more information and details from Arabic media as well as providing fresh translations of some important doctrinal and historical texts.
The fact is that knowledge of Arabic opens a new world of information concerning such important and strategic nations as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. Readers are encouraged to visit my website,
RaymondIbrahim.com
, where I regularly translate breaking news from the Arab world—not just on Christian persecution but on Islamic affairs in general—and put it in context. I also maintain a “Muslim Persecution of Christians” tab on my website and produce a monthly report by the same name, which offers the very latest news on the sufferings of Christians under Islam, most of it reported only in alternate and foreign media.
RaymondIbrahim.com
, where I regularly translate breaking news from the Arab world—not just on Christian persecution but on Islamic affairs in general—and put it in context. I also maintain a “Muslim Persecution of Christians” tab on my website and produce a monthly report by the same name, which offers the very latest news on the sufferings of Christians under Islam, most of it reported only in alternate and foreign media.
A final question remains to be addressed: Why focus on
Muslim
persecution of Christians? After all, Christians are being persecuted around the entire world—in North Korea, for example—and not just in the Islamic world. Why focus exclusively on the sufferings of Christians under Islam? The fact is, while it is true that Christians are also being persecuted in non-Muslim countries, the lion’s share of the persecution happens in Muslim countries. But there is another important point: Muslim persecution is much more existential and deeply rooted in Muslim societies. The persecution of Christians in other, mostly communist, nations is very real. It should never be minimized. But the overthrow of, say, the North Korean regime could well end the persecution of Christians there almost overnight—just as the fall of the Soviet Union saw Christians’ persecution come to a quick close in Russia. This is because the persecution of Christians in non-Muslim nations is almost always rooted in a secular ideology and tied to a particular political regime. On the other hand, Muslim persecution of Christians is perennial; it transcends any one regime. It is part and parcel of the Islamic religion and the civilization born of it—hence its tenacity. Thus the persecution of Christians in the Muslim world is not only a widespread phenomenon that has horrific effects on large numbers of human beings across the globe; it is also a discrete phenomenon, deserving of attention in its own right.
Muslim
persecution of Christians? After all, Christians are being persecuted around the entire world—in North Korea, for example—and not just in the Islamic world. Why focus exclusively on the sufferings of Christians under Islam? The fact is, while it is true that Christians are also being persecuted in non-Muslim countries, the lion’s share of the persecution happens in Muslim countries. But there is another important point: Muslim persecution is much more existential and deeply rooted in Muslim societies. The persecution of Christians in other, mostly communist, nations is very real. It should never be minimized. But the overthrow of, say, the North Korean regime could well end the persecution of Christians there almost overnight—just as the fall of the Soviet Union saw Christians’ persecution come to a quick close in Russia. This is because the persecution of Christians in non-Muslim nations is almost always rooted in a secular ideology and tied to a particular political regime. On the other hand, Muslim persecution of Christians is perennial; it transcends any one regime. It is part and parcel of the Islamic religion and the civilization born of it—hence its tenacity. Thus the persecution of Christians in the Muslim world is not only a widespread phenomenon that has horrific effects on large numbers of human beings across the globe; it is also a discrete phenomenon, deserving of attention in its own right.
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