Tag: Middle East

Prince Charles criticises ‘organised persecution’ of Middle East Christians

December 18, 2013 Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, London, Middle East, Prince Charles, Sadad, Syria

Left to Right: Prince Charles, Abba Seraphim and Bishop Angaelos at the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre.Coptic Orthodox Church UK The Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, has added his voice to those calling for an end to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. After a . . . Read More

Iraqi Archbishop calls on West to ‘open eyes’ to Christians’ Middle East exodus

December 18, 2013 Iraq Islamic extremism, Louis Raphael I Sako, Middle East, Syria

Louis Raphael I Sako.Lee Stranahan / Flickr / Creative Commons The Archbishop of Baghdad, Louis Raphael I Sako, has called on the West to help put an end to the “mortal exodus” of Christians from the Middle East. Sako, who is also Patriarch of Babylon, told a conference in . . . Read More

Book review: ‘The Global War on Christians’

November 19, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Asia, Buddhist nationalism, Burundi, Colombia, Eastern Europe, Eritrea, Hindu nationalism, Islamic extremism, Kenya, Latin America, Middle East, Organised crime, Philippines

It has been an astonishing last 12 months for books on the persecution of Christians when there has been such silence on the issue for so long. First came ‘Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack’ in late 2012; then the more simply titled, ‘Persecuted: the Global Assault on Christians’ in March . . . Read More

Christians face extinction in Middle East, warns UK Minister

November 15, 2013 Baroness Warsi, David Cameron, Human rights, Middle East, Pakistan, UK

Baroness Warsi on a visit to Pakistan in 2010.DFID / Flickr / Creative Commons A UK Foreign Office Minister has warned that Christians in some parts of the world face extinction because of violence against them. Ahead of a speech on Friday, Nov. 15 at Georgetown University in Washington, . . . Read More

Amnesty: Egypt failed to protect Copts

October 9, 2013 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Middle East, North Africa

A new report by Amnesty International claims the authorities in Egypt are failing to prevent “deeply disturbing” attacks on the country’s Coptic Christian minority. The organisation has called for an investigation into a series of deadly sectarian incidents. “Failure to bring to justice those responsible for sectarian attacks sends the . . . Read More

Leaving home

October 7, 2013 Syria Assyrians, Free Syrian Army, Islamic extremism, Lebanon, Middle East, Raqqa, Sharia, Syria, Tabqa, Turkey

A couple of days after she fled Syria for Turkey, a colleague sent me a message. “Dear Nuri, this is a court that the extremists established in my city, Lattakia, in the [Syrian] village of Kansabba. This Islamic court issues the law according to the extremists’ religion. It started today. . . . Read More

Christianity in danger of becoming extinct in its birthplace

September 30, 2013 Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Egypt, Free Syrian Army, Iraq, Islamic extremism, London, Middle East, Syria

Last month, World Watch Monitor released a report, Beyond Count, highlighting the alarming frequency with which Christians are fleeing the Middle East. Now a British historian has added his voice to those concerns. By Dr. Jenny Taylor Respected UK historian Tom Holland told a briefing in London this week that . . . Read More

Amid the ruins, forgiveness

September 12, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Middle East, Minya, North Africa

Continuing the growing stream of reporting on the extensive damage done to Egypt’s churches since Aug. 14, the Sat7 Christian broadcasting service showed video on Sunday of the worship service at the Evangelical Church of Beni Mazar, in the Minya region. Worshipers sang and prayed in the charred remains of their building. . . . Read More

Assyrians urge US to hold fire

September 12, 2013 Syria Assyrians, Islamic extremism, Middle East, Syria, USA

The Assyrian American National Coalition has mounted an online letter-writing drive to urge the U.S. administration to hold its fire in Syria. Assyrians are an ancient ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East, and belonging mostly to various eastern and orthodox Christian churches. “Now, as extremist jihadists have moved their war to . . . Read More

UN warns of Syria ‘genocide’

September 3, 2013 Syria Genocide, Middle East, Syria, UN

A UN diplomat has warned that if the violence in Syria continues at its present rate, there is a “risk of genocide”. Mokhtar Lamani, who worked with the UN during both the Balkans war and Rwanda, told the BBC that Alawites and Christians were at most risk, and that over . . . Read More

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