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Mainstream Media Seems Indifferent To Persecution Of Christians
By Herb Denenberg, The Bulletin
This column has devoted more space to the subject of the worldwide persecution of Christians than the rest of the mainstream media put together. That’s easy, as the mainstream media, and for that matter most of the Western media, have ignored this story, one of the most important of our time.
I find it remarkable that not only the mainstream media virtually ignores the story, but also major Christian denominations and their leadership seem almost indifferent to the persecution of Christians worldwide. And don’t assume it is a small or isolated problem. It is truly a worldwide problem impacting millions. I found this surprising, but the persecution of Christians in the twentieth century exceeded all previous centuries.
Persecution of Christians has several other layers of importance. First, much of it involves Muslims and the Stealth Jihad, which now challenges the very existence of Western civilization. Second, Christian persecution shows how we have failed to guarantee basic human rights in so many areas of the world. Third, when we tolerate religious or other persecution of one group, we put all of us at risk.
The great German pastor, Martin Nieomoller, was right in his famous poem when he said we better speak up early on, because if we don’t pretty soon there will be no one left to speak up for us. In other words, it pays to face down religious persecution for both altruistic and selfish reasons.
The problem of persecution of Christians first caught my attention when I read an article in the Jerusalem Post by Lela Gilbert, author of the book, Their Blood Cries Out, and a leading authority on religious persecution. The subject got my attention again when I noticed two articles in the Jerusalem Post (Dec. 19-25) on the subject — one on the presence of Christians being eradicated in Gaza and another by Ms. Gilbert on the ongoing persecution and genocide in Sudan.
The article on Gaza is titled “Cruelty and Silence in Gaza.” In Gaza, and to a lesser extent in the West Bank, there is a systematic campaign of persecution against the Christians. Jonathan Spyer, the author, notes that the silence of the Western media and about everyone else is aiding the perpetrators. They obviously see the world giving them a free pass to carry out assaults, kidnappings and other violations of the rights of Christians.
Mr. Spyer of the Global Research in International Affairs Center, writes, “The perpetrators are a variety of Islamic groups, all of which are manifestations of a process of growing Islamic militancy and piety taking place across the region.” The Christian population in Gaza is 2,000-3,000 people.
Since the coup of the terrorist or ganization Hamas in July 2007, as you might imagine, the position of the Christians have continued to deteriorate. As you might also imagine, the authorities provide lip service but no opposition to the wave of religious persecution. Islamic organizations are now targeting individuals and organizations with impunity.
The trend got underway with the infamous blowing up of the only Christian bookstore by terrorists in April 2007. About six months later the owner of the bookstore was found dead.
At the time, staff members of the Palestinian Bible Society appealed for prayers and support for the persecuted Christians, but that cry for help has not been answered.
The terrorists have blown up dozens of Internet cafes and videocassette shops. Now the terrorists are concentrating on educational institutions. The terrorists bombed the YMCA Library and The Zahwa Rosary Sisters School, among other institutions.
The terrorist groups carrying out these attacks have made their purpose clear. The Popular Resistance Committees, one of the larger terror groups, has said Christians have to be eliminated in Gaza, as they are a pro-Western and anti-Islamic influence.
Hamas denounces these outrages and then conducts only superficial investigations. When there are arrests, and they are rare, the suspects are quickly released.
Mr. Spyer says the persecution of Christians is not a fringe activity, but is part of a larger Islamization process, involving Hamas, taking place in Palestinian society. Fatah is also involve d in this process.
The situation is a little better on the West bank because of a larger Christian population and a greater secular presence. But the anti-Christian trends are strong even in the West Bank.
Among the tactics being employed is “compulsory purchase” of lands owned by Christians. People with close links to Palestinian Authority Security forces are false registration, squatters and various illegal means to wrest land from the Christians.
Palestinian Christians would appear to have no reason for hope and are voting with their feet. For example, the population of Bethlehem has gone from 60 percent Christian in 1990 to fewer than 20 percent today, and may soon disappear altogether.
Ms. Gilbert visited Bethlehem on Dec. 20, and her description of one meeting with a Christian cleric perfectly captures how Hamas and the Palestinian Muslims have crushed all the life out of a once large and vibrant Christian community. Here is Ms. Gilbert’s account of that visit: “I went to Bethlehem myself Saturday and can tell you that there is heaviness in the air. A friend and I met with old Christian cleric — he’s very ill — who must remain unnamed. Suffice it to say that he has worked there for 50 years among the Christians.
“As we were about to leave this frail old saint said, ‘What will be left when I am gone?’ He doubtless feels he has lost everything — the innumerable Christians he has known and loved over decades who have left and relocated elsewhere, the Jewish friends in Israel he once enjoyed but who can no longer go there to visit him, a troubled son, his home country Iraq and the way of life he remembers there now destroyed by Saddam and Muslims.
“He also seems to have lost the freedom to speak candidly in his own home (he was clearly watching what he said, which he has not done on previous visits), and now it appears that his beloved church is vanishing like vapor in the wind. When I asked him what he most fears, he and his wife answered ‘Hamas’ in unison.”
Mr. Spyer concludes his article, “These events reflect broader regional processes. Their failure to become known is also part of a larger trend. The foreign media, NGOs on the ground and some Western political leaderships prefer to foster a version of events in the West Bank and Gaza based on illusion and willful ignorance of the evidence. The slow death of an ancient community is one of the fruits of this.”
Ms. Gilbert, in the same issue of the Jerusalem Post, turns her attention to the ongoing genocide and persecution of Christians in the Sudan, Africa’s largest nation by land mass. Ms. Gilbert points out that in an attempt to impose Shari’a (Muslim) law, Sudan “has been bloodied by one of the most protracted and brutal civil wars in contemporary times.”
This involves the Khartoum regime’s attack against the Christian (and animist) in the South beginning in 198 3. She writes, “As a result, an estimated 2 million south Sudanese have since died while some four million have been displaced.” There are two genocides in Sudan – one in Darfur and one against the South,
The slaughter in the South has not received the same attention as Darfur, but the problems there are far from solved. Nina Shea of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom found the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South is rapidly deteriorating, and the overall picture is grim.
People are anxious to return to their homes but there is literally nothing to return to with no water, sanitation medical care or other infrastructure. The peace agreement that was supposed to settle the conflict is at risk. That means the nine to 10 million Christians in the Sudan are also at risk.
Ms. Gilbert points out the long-time leader of the South was killed in a helicopter crash, and the duplicity of President Omar al-Bashir and the attempt of his Khartoum regime to enforce its radicalized version of Islam, means that the stipulations of the CPA are not being followed. Bashir continues to carry out aggression by assaulting oil-rich Abyei.
All this means that Christians who have fled to other countries such as Egypt are afraid to return. Some 3,000 Sudanese are now living in Israel.
Before all of these refugees, still in Sudan and in other lands, can successfully return, the South has to rebuilt. But that has been made impossible by Kharto um’s failure to pay it oil profits and give it powers it is entitled to under the CPA.
Representing the International Christian Assembly, Charmaine Hedding traveled to the Sudan and her observations contain an action agenda:
“The CPA is fast becoming the fading hope of Sudan as once again the northern government reneges on its agreement. It is not just the threat against Sudan’s viability as a country and the prospect of further civil war, but the consequences of an Islamic stronghold there could reverberate across Africa.
“This alone should cause the international community to target Khartoum with serious punitive measures aimed at stopping the atrocities and enforcing all the provisions of the CPA. Regardless, we have to commit to strengthening South Sudan as it alone has proved to be a partner for peace in Sudan, and ultimately in the region.”
Nina Shea also issued a call for action: “Sudan continues to be designated a terrorist state by the US State Department. The US and Israel should be concerned abut another Islamist terrorist state with oil. Beginning now we must do everything possible to help the South sand on its own, whether or not the CPA is carried out.”
If you want action to end discrimination against Christians in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere and if you want to help the South Sudan survive against the Islamic onslaught from the Khartoum government, you should write your U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask for appropriate action. You might also write the White House. In addition, you should try to put these issues forward in the media, with letters to the editor, with calls to talk shows, and with entries on blogs.
Citizen action is essential, as the mainstream media seems indifferent to persecution of Christians and other religious discrimination and to genocide. If you don’t act, will anyone else?
Herb Denenberg is a former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner, and professor at the Wharton School. He is a longtime Philadelphia journalist and consumer advocate. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of the Sciences. His column appears daily in The Bulletin. You can reach him at advocate@thebulletin.us.
I find it remarkable that not only the mainstream media virtually ignores the story, but also major Christian denominations and their leadership seem almost indifferent to the persecution of Christians worldwide. And don’t assume it is a small or isolated problem. It is truly a worldwide problem impacting millions. I found this surprising, but the persecution of Christians in the twentieth century exceeded all previous centuries.
Persecution of Christians has several other layers of importance. First, much of it involves Muslims and the Stealth Jihad, which now challenges the very existence of Western civilization. Second, Christian persecution shows how we have failed to guarantee basic human rights in so many areas of the world. Third, when we tolerate religious or other persecution of one group, we put all of us at risk.
The great German pastor, Martin Nieomoller, was right in his famous poem when he said we better speak up early on, because if we don’t pretty soon there will be no one left to speak up for us. In other words, it pays to face down religious persecution for both altruistic and selfish reasons.
The problem of persecution of Christians first caught my attention when I read an article in the Jerusalem Post by Lela Gilbert, author of the book, Their Blood Cries Out, and a leading authority on religious persecution. The subject got my attention again when I noticed two articles in the Jerusalem Post (Dec. 19-25) on the subject — one on the presence of Christians being eradicated in Gaza and another by Ms. Gilbert on the ongoing persecution and genocide in Sudan.
The article on Gaza is titled “Cruelty and Silence in Gaza.” In Gaza, and to a lesser extent in the West Bank, there is a systematic campaign of persecution against the Christians. Jonathan Spyer, the author, notes that the silence of the Western media and about everyone else is aiding the perpetrators. They obviously see the world giving them a free pass to carry out assaults, kidnappings and other violations of the rights of Christians.
Mr. Spyer of the Global Research in International Affairs Center, writes, “The perpetrators are a variety of Islamic groups, all of which are manifestations of a process of growing Islamic militancy and piety taking place across the region.” The Christian population in Gaza is 2,000-3,000 people.
Since the coup of the terrorist or ganization Hamas in July 2007, as you might imagine, the position of the Christians have continued to deteriorate. As you might also imagine, the authorities provide lip service but no opposition to the wave of religious persecution. Islamic organizations are now targeting individuals and organizations with impunity.
The trend got underway with the infamous blowing up of the only Christian bookstore by terrorists in April 2007. About six months later the owner of the bookstore was found dead.
At the time, staff members of the Palestinian Bible Society appealed for prayers and support for the persecuted Christians, but that cry for help has not been answered.
The terrorists have blown up dozens of Internet cafes and videocassette shops. Now the terrorists are concentrating on educational institutions. The terrorists bombed the YMCA Library and The Zahwa Rosary Sisters School, among other institutions.
The terrorist groups carrying out these attacks have made their purpose clear. The Popular Resistance Committees, one of the larger terror groups, has said Christians have to be eliminated in Gaza, as they are a pro-Western and anti-Islamic influence.
Hamas denounces these outrages and then conducts only superficial investigations. When there are arrests, and they are rare, the suspects are quickly released.
Mr. Spyer says the persecution of Christians is not a fringe activity, but is part of a larger Islamization process, involving Hamas, taking place in Palestinian society. Fatah is also involve d in this process.
The situation is a little better on the West bank because of a larger Christian population and a greater secular presence. But the anti-Christian trends are strong even in the West Bank.
Among the tactics being employed is “compulsory purchase” of lands owned by Christians. People with close links to Palestinian Authority Security forces are false registration, squatters and various illegal means to wrest land from the Christians.
Palestinian Christians would appear to have no reason for hope and are voting with their feet. For example, the population of Bethlehem has gone from 60 percent Christian in 1990 to fewer than 20 percent today, and may soon disappear altogether.
Ms. Gilbert visited Bethlehem on Dec. 20, and her description of one meeting with a Christian cleric perfectly captures how Hamas and the Palestinian Muslims have crushed all the life out of a once large and vibrant Christian community. Here is Ms. Gilbert’s account of that visit: “I went to Bethlehem myself Saturday and can tell you that there is heaviness in the air. A friend and I met with old Christian cleric — he’s very ill — who must remain unnamed. Suffice it to say that he has worked there for 50 years among the Christians.
“As we were about to leave this frail old saint said, ‘What will be left when I am gone?’ He doubtless feels he has lost everything — the innumerable Christians he has known and loved over decades who have left and relocated elsewhere, the Jewish friends in Israel he once enjoyed but who can no longer go there to visit him, a troubled son, his home country Iraq and the way of life he remembers there now destroyed by Saddam and Muslims.
“He also seems to have lost the freedom to speak candidly in his own home (he was clearly watching what he said, which he has not done on previous visits), and now it appears that his beloved church is vanishing like vapor in the wind. When I asked him what he most fears, he and his wife answered ‘Hamas’ in unison.”
Mr. Spyer concludes his article, “These events reflect broader regional processes. Their failure to become known is also part of a larger trend. The foreign media, NGOs on the ground and some Western political leaderships prefer to foster a version of events in the West Bank and Gaza based on illusion and willful ignorance of the evidence. The slow death of an ancient community is one of the fruits of this.”
Ms. Gilbert, in the same issue of the Jerusalem Post, turns her attention to the ongoing genocide and persecution of Christians in the Sudan, Africa’s largest nation by land mass. Ms. Gilbert points out that in an attempt to impose Shari’a (Muslim) law, Sudan “has been bloodied by one of the most protracted and brutal civil wars in contemporary times.”
This involves the Khartoum regime’s attack against the Christian (and animist) in the South beginning in 198 3. She writes, “As a result, an estimated 2 million south Sudanese have since died while some four million have been displaced.” There are two genocides in Sudan – one in Darfur and one against the South,
The slaughter in the South has not received the same attention as Darfur, but the problems there are far from solved. Nina Shea of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom found the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South is rapidly deteriorating, and the overall picture is grim.
People are anxious to return to their homes but there is literally nothing to return to with no water, sanitation medical care or other infrastructure. The peace agreement that was supposed to settle the conflict is at risk. That means the nine to 10 million Christians in the Sudan are also at risk.
Ms. Gilbert points out the long-time leader of the South was killed in a helicopter crash, and the duplicity of President Omar al-Bashir and the attempt of his Khartoum regime to enforce its radicalized version of Islam, means that the stipulations of the CPA are not being followed. Bashir continues to carry out aggression by assaulting oil-rich Abyei.
All this means that Christians who have fled to other countries such as Egypt are afraid to return. Some 3,000 Sudanese are now living in Israel.
Before all of these refugees, still in Sudan and in other lands, can successfully return, the South has to rebuilt. But that has been made impossible by Kharto um’s failure to pay it oil profits and give it powers it is entitled to under the CPA.
Representing the International Christian Assembly, Charmaine Hedding traveled to the Sudan and her observations contain an action agenda:
“The CPA is fast becoming the fading hope of Sudan as once again the northern government reneges on its agreement. It is not just the threat against Sudan’s viability as a country and the prospect of further civil war, but the consequences of an Islamic stronghold there could reverberate across Africa.
“This alone should cause the international community to target Khartoum with serious punitive measures aimed at stopping the atrocities and enforcing all the provisions of the CPA. Regardless, we have to commit to strengthening South Sudan as it alone has proved to be a partner for peace in Sudan, and ultimately in the region.”
Nina Shea also issued a call for action: “Sudan continues to be designated a terrorist state by the US State Department. The US and Israel should be concerned abut another Islamist terrorist state with oil. Beginning now we must do everything possible to help the South sand on its own, whether or not the CPA is carried out.”
If you want action to end discrimination against Christians in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere and if you want to help the South Sudan survive against the Islamic onslaught from the Khartoum government, you should write your U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask for appropriate action. You might also write the White House. In addition, you should try to put these issues forward in the media, with letters to the editor, with calls to talk shows, and with entries on blogs.
Citizen action is essential, as the mainstream media seems indifferent to persecution of Christians and other religious discrimination and to genocide. If you don’t act, will anyone else?
Herb Denenberg is a former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner, and professor at the Wharton School. He is a longtime Philadelphia journalist and consumer advocate. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of the Sciences. His column appears daily in The Bulletin. You can reach him at advocate@thebulletin.us.
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montani semper liberi wrote on Dec 26, 2008 10:23 AM: